Official Sega Saturn Magazine Issue 21

jft'jji'Higu

PLUS! JONAH LOMU RUGBY ID4
BATTLESTATIONS FIGHTING FORCE

LAST BRONX: AM3 INTERVIEW WARCRAFT 2
HOUSE OF THE DEAD DARKLIGHT THE CROW

now you

can

premier

Actua Soccer is universally
recognised as the greatest football
game ever. Here is just one of many
testimonials:

"The best footy game around.
It's almost like playing the real
thing. Beautiful."

Five Star Rating - Essential Playstation
Now with Actua Soccer Club Edition, as well as all
the action and authenticity of the original, you can
play your favourite Premier League side with new
live interactive commentary from football's finest,
Barry Davies. I ■. 1

club e

actu a;

SPORTS)

COMPETITION^

i-h TIDH-

lit

I AM INVINCIBLE!

in the SEGA/ CAME FIGHTERS M

I A.

ers that are 'quite good' or even people that are 'rather tasty 1 , we're looking for the BEST. The ■

■etitors will be allowed one play of Megamix on default s
a completion time on course A, and the eight fastest times posted in participating (
across the country will be invited (travel expenses paid) to compete in the Grand Final!

3aifiB | OT l*4^

virgins to Virtua Fighter
if you really want to

Now then, pay attention, this is the rules section. The competition will run in all participating

le shops from Wednesday June nth until Sunday June zind (ring Came on 0181 974 1555 for
a nst of participating stores), with the final being held on July 5th. If you

advance at home (you will) the game MUST be played on the default settings, and we're I

ing for the quickest complete

do the time in a Came shop 1

telling us about how fast you did rt at

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 21

CONTENTS

EDITORIAL

Editor ftichud Leadbetl

utor Gary Harrod, Daniel levoni

ie Editor WunnHuiod

rt Wiplcut 1097 by Piygnoiii

ADVERTISING

Commercial Director Sandia MeClai
Croup Ad Manager liiaHawfcw
Software Manager Chrii Peieia
Agency Sales Manager Paul luiu
Agency Sales Eiecu
Mail Order Sales Initio Wilnniu
Advertising Assistant Annabel Gin

Dick

Parage,:

eting Eietutiue I« Whuniby
l« Manager Klnten Ritcheni

sting Designer Andrew Cunning

ei Robert MiBiide

SEGA Liaison link Mailowicx

Editorial Contact n-19 Millhaiboui,
The isle Of Dogi, London, K14 9H.
Telephone (0171) 971 6700 (no tip* calli)
Fax (0171)972 6701

ig Coopai Clegg and Spotty jwoode
Sega Saturn Magazine is an official licence, I

made in following issues.

Copyright i»; [MAP Imago/Sega.

Competition rnl»

EMAP Images and Sega staff and their families

SJ^T) I email.

images

I COVER STORY I

12 WIPE0UT2097

Full-on detailage on one of the hottest PlayStation conver-
sions: Psygnosis' rather smart WipEout 2097! If you were
disappointed with the first game, expect much better things
from this show-stopping sequel! It's really cool indeed and
we'll have the first REVIEW next issue!

RHBIGIN JAPAN I
58 KING OF SPIRITS 2

What's the current hot game in the Land of the
Rising Sun? This month we check out a new
racing game that's currently doing big business
in the Far East, and that's the oddly titled King
The Spirits 2!

..■FEATURES ^^^^^^M
SEGA RALLY FOR REAL

How close is the amazing Sega Rally to actual
rallying? A good question and one answered
by our editor who straps himself into the
Navigator's seat in a Toyota Celica GT4 and
goes racing with a professional rally driver!

FIGHTING FORCE

The team behind Thunderhawk 2 have been hard at work on
Fighting Force, kind of like Streets of Rage in a full 3D envi-
ronment but tons more exciting. Take a look at this first part
to SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE'S exhaustive FF coverage!

20 RESIDENT EVIL

You want it and only SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE has it! What
are we talking about? Full-on details and exclusive screen-
shots of the Saturn rendition of Resident Evil, of course! Turn
to page 20 and prepare to be a

LAST BRONX INTERVIEW

Following up on our excellent expose of this
ace fighting game in the last issue, SEGA SAT-
URN MAGAZINE is proud to bring you an exclu-
sive interview with the man behind both the
arcade game and the Saturn translation!

■a* SHOWCASES
36 SONIC JAM

Take Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic
3 and Sonic and Knuckles.
Convert all of them per
fectly to Saturn.
Then add in an
amazing 3D sec-
tion with some of the
best graphics EVER!
That's Sonic Jam and it
coming to the UK soon!

24 MARVEL SUPER HEROES

What? Another incredible exclusive? You betcha! Thanks to
our unrivalled contacts with Capcom, SEGA SATURN MAGA-
ZINE is proud to present exclusive coverage of the hottest
2D fighting game in the world ever!

48 JONAH LOMU RUGBY

Codemasters strike back on the Saturn with a
conversion of their much-fancied sports simu-
lation. We reckon it's hot stuff, and this ace
four page feature is where we clarify that sen-
timent and tell you why. WHY!

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE USE
□□ | DOLBY SURROUND]
TO TEST ALL SOFTWARE

SUBSCRIPTION RATES

UK £33.00 Airmail Europe £46.00 Airmail Zone 1 £73.00 Eire £46.00. These rates include postage and packing.

SUBSCRIPTION/BACK ISSUES ENQUIRIES

Sega Saturn Subscriptions, Sovereign Park, Leicester LEST 4PA. LE16 9EF. Phone (01858) 435350

P «m ■-■■

^■PREVIEWS I

28 DARKLIGHT CONFLICT

30 WARCRAFT2

■■REVIEWS I
62 JONAH LOMU RUGBY
64 BATTLESTATIONS
66 INDEPENDENCE DAY
68 ACTUA SOCCER

CLUB EDITION
70 THE CROW: CITY OF ANGELS

■■REGULARS I

06 NEWS

32 VIRTUA WRITER

34 Q+A

35 SUBSCRIPTIONS
72 SMALL TIPS
92 COIN-OPERATED:

HOUSE OF THE DEAD

96 OUT NOW

98 INTRODUCING...

■■TIPS SPECIALS I

76 SHINING THE HOLY ARK, PART1
82 FIGHTERS MEGAMIX, PART 3
86 HEXENPART2

As can be witnessed by the stunning line-up of games we have in this issue, the quality
of Saturn software is at its highest yet with a vast range of ace titles reaching the end
of their development cycles. But Sega need to do more to boost the Saturn's image. We
need a £99 pricepoint for a standalone machine. And then we need a full-on ad campaign
in the national and games press to tell everyone of the stunning games you
can get EXCLUSIVELY for the Saturn, along with the hot licensed titles
that are SUPERIOR on the Sega machine. Whether we like it or not, it's
a fact that the Saturn's reputation isn't as strong as the PlayStation's in
the mass market. There's still a chance for the Saturn to boost its
installed base to huge levels and the machine has every chance
of doing so judging by the games I've seen in development dur-
ing the last couple of months. But it's going to need a big push from
the Saturn's marketeers... And we really need to see it now.
Rich Luadbetter.
Editor.

SUMMER LINE-UP TAKES SHAPE!

AWESOME SATURN TITLES TO LOOK FORWARD TO

Continuing the Saturn's dominance of quality gaming, SEGA SATURN
MAGAZINE can reveal final UK plans for the shipment of some incredi-
ble games over the next few months... with the promise of even more
brilliant titles coming soon after.

Sky Target (top) and Sonic Jam (above) are two of Sega's big hopes Tor the Si
Overall, their line-up of Saturn titles is absolutely amazing!

ARCADE ACTION KICKS OFF THE ASSAULT

Sega's ace summer line-up of games has already begun with the release of the AM2
wondergame, Fighters MegaMix. AM2 have done it again with the BIGGEST 3D fight-
ing game in the whole history of the world ever, a marvellous treat with stunning
gameplay, it received a deserving 95% in the last issue and is Game of the Month
over in Out Now (see page 96).

Continuing the arcade action we have the translation of SkyTarget which has
moved up to a June 5 release. Now the vast majority of the Sega arcade conversions
are frankly superb, but SkyTarget isn't so cool. Still, for a more detailed analysis, check
out the next issue of SSM.

Rounding off the arcade conversions, King of Fighters 95 finally arrives in
August. As 2D fighting games go, SNK's brawler is revered with the best amongst
die-hard arcadesters and received a high 89% in our reviews section.

PLAYSTATION CONVERSIONS ARE GO!

The excellent news is that we can confirm a release date for the potentially amazing
Resident Evil. You can read all about the Saturn version of this game on page 20, but
basically Capcom have confirmed that the backgrounds will be superior to the
PlayStation original AND there is the potential for more enhancements to the game-
play in the form of the "BioHazard Dash" special edition additions that Capcom are
promising to add to the Saturn translation. Just as this issue went to press, SEGA SAT-
URN MAGAZINE learned that the conversion has been signed up exclusively by Sega
themselves, inching out the more traditional UK publisher of Capcom produce,
Virgin Interactive. All those who've seen it reckon that the Satum version of Resident
Evil is bloody excellent and apparently the enhancements made over the original are
very cool indeed - and no we aren't going to tell you what they are. Suffice to say that
next month we'll reveal all - and we guarantee that you will be surprised.

Staying with the PlayStation conversions, SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE can now
reveal that Sega have indeed scooped up the rights to WipEout 2097, as featured on
page 12 of this fine issue. Whilst there are some small deficiencies when compared
with the PlayStation original, there's no denying that the speed, fluidity and full-on
gameplay of the Sony game have made it across fully intact on the Satum transla-
tion. This could well make it one of the premiere road race games for the Sega
machine. Expect this ace game to make an appearance in July.

SONIC JAM DETAILS CONFIRMED!

The star of this month's mammoth showcase, Sonic the Hedgehog, is fully confirmed
for a UK outing in the form of the super retro pack Sonic Jam. There has been some
discussion on the Internet with regards to a possible delay on the European release
until AFTER the launch of the new 3D Sonic game this winter.

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE can quash all rumours. Sonic Jam IS heading for
shops with a tentative release date of August 28. Best of all is the price: this lovely
Satum game will retail for £34.99.

06 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

1

■ *

■as » r- __ y,

■

,

Shining the Holy Ark Is one of the best RPGs ever - you must own this ace adventure!

THE GREATEST ROLE-PLAYING GAMES!

One of the most celebrated strategy role-playing games ever is Dragon Force, a
tured in the Introducing section of SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE in issue ft 20. A huge,
deeply involving storyline coupled with super-deep gameplay make this another
essential Satum title. Expert this game in August or September. Kicking off the si
mer onslaught we have our editor's current Fave Game: Shining the Holy Ark! Tons of
ace graphics, a great storyline, some brilliant characters, amazing magic spells and
lashes of fighting make this a RPG that MUST be bought. It's out on June 19.

TOMB RAIDER 2 JEOPARDY

AZINE regarding the status of the Saturn

hasn't been confirmed by Core or Sony a:

Regardless or TR2's fate, Core have confirmed
that their two other major products: Fighting
force (see page 16} and the potentially

leaving the Saturn market b

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 07

4^|k|s|w|s1

"

MlW^nM

KNOW HMV

H Send us your top tw games and yw could be mentioned in this small but significant space next month, feu
I also get a game! Seed your charts to READER CHARTS, SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE, 57-59 MILLHARBOJR, THE
nSuflfi&ibffiHtf S^ 5, mm ° £U 9n ' ^ ™ ntn ' s reader chart conies from P Swiatek of Berksliire...

HMV CHARTS

READERS CHARTS

SATURN MAGAZINE CHARTS

1

fighters MegaMix

1

ManxTT

1

Fighters MegaMix

2

Command and Conquer

2

Die Hard Trilogy

2

Virtua Fighter 3 (coin-op)

3

ManxTT

3

NiGHTS

3

House of the Dead (coin-op)

4

FIFA '97

4

Sega Rally Championship

4

WipEout2097

5

Soviet Strike

5

Virtua Fighter 2

5

Sonic Jam

6

Saturn Bomber man

6

VirtuaCop2

6

Resident Evil

7

VirtuaCop2

7

Tomb Raider

7

Exhumed

8

Die Hard Arcade

8

Worldwide Soccer '97

8

Metal Slug

9

Tomb Raider

9

Sega Ages

9

Street Fighter Alpha 2

10

Dark Savior

10

Exhumed

10

Sega Rally Championship

ENTER... THUNDERFORCEV!

The magic's back as the original ThunderForce programmers, Technosoft, take
the franchise to the next level as ThunderForce hits the Saturn! As far as we can
tell, the basic side-scrolling shoot 'em up formula remains very similar indeed to
what we've seen on the Megadrive versions of the game. However, the differ-
ence is that the enemy sprites you face off against are full 3D polygon construc-
tions, allowing for some spectacular effects as they zoom onto the screen or get
blown up - whatever. The ThunderForce games are known for their hugely tax-
ing difficulty level and it's thought that once again this will come to the fore-
front in the new game. The inside word is that Technosoft were very impressed
with Taito's Raystorm game on the PlayStation (which is also set to hit the
Saturn, incidently), but reckoned that they could do even better with Saturn
ThunderForce. Well, the game is set for a July release, so expect to see something
more concrete in this fine magazine in the next couple of issues.

In these pictures or the new ThunderForce V (apologies for the quality - they're the only ones we
could get), you see one of the 30 monsters Flying onto the screen with the ship doing battle with
it! With Technosoft putting their all behind this product, ThunderForce V should be a spectacular
experience! The game is due in Japan in July and if it's as good as we think it's going to be, this
is bound to end up with a UK release.

pANdeMONlUM.''

Tuia

WOOLWORTHS

This voucher entitles the user to £5 off the retail value of
Pandemonium on the Sega sat urn .
It cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion.
It is valid from June 14, 1997 to July 14, 1997 inclusive.

WF 0209 91

?■=-

PANDEMONIUM APOLOGIES

As readers of the last issue will know, SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE
in association with Sega and Wool worths offered you lot the
opportunity to get five quid off the retail price of the rather excel-
lent Saturn rendition of Pandemonium. However, by the time the
game reached the shelves, the coupon was out of date! The release
was put back because of a bug, so here's another coupon!

08 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

4M A Break B?om The JVosm

f> |i:|u|w|o| SSS3H0SS 3 OS 5 3 E S

SEGA BUY INTO 3DFX!

ULTIMATE 3D TECHNOLOGY FOR THE NEXT SEGA MACHINE!

It was recently announced that Sega Enterprises have bought a vast amount of
stock in the hardware developer 3DFX. responsible forthe cutting edge 3D technol-
ogy boards for the PC.

3DFX's "voodoo" chipset is regarded by the PC fraternity as the most powerful
rendering architecture on the mass market at the moment and Sega's recent pur-
chase of 3DFX stock allows them exclusive rights to all current and future 3DFX tech-
nology. In a single stroke. Sega have guaranteed that their next machine will have 3D
far in advance of the competition whilst at the same time locking out this technology
from its rivals.

In recent legal documents disclosed by 3DFX, it's revealed that Sega has acquired
700,000 of the 4.200,000 shares available giving it a 16% overall holding of the com-
pany. In these documents. 3DFX reveals in black and white terms that their technolo-
gy has been reserved by Sega who control all rights as to the technology'^ distribu-
tion in home games consoles. The documents also reveal that Sega reserve the right
to go elsewhere should they so choose should they wish to create their own machine
as they did with the Megadrive and Saturn.

So what's the big deal with 3DFX technology? Why did Sega choose it and just

With 3DFX at the core of the new Sega consoles, ports like Quake 1 should be super-easy!

how good is it? The answer is pretty obvious to any PC owner who owns a 3DFX card.

The system is incredibly powerful even in its first generation form and currently
boasts some of the most spectacular 3D games for any home system. 3DFX-enhanced
Quake boasts all the 3D features which make the N64 games look so cool, but
improves on it significantly thanks to the far higher resolution. The speed of the
game is also frankly amazing with a near rock solid 30 frames per second on any
decent Pentium. Other stunning 3DFX games include Tomb Raider (again full 3ofps
action with stunning mip-mapping and supreme resolution) and Psygnosis's excel-
lent Formula One.

Buying into 3DFX is a very, very smart move for Sega. Not only is the company
the best there is at what they do, but the technology is also well liked by the develop-
ing community Saturn development has been dogged by claims that the system is
incredibly tough to get to grips with. With 3DFX technology in their next machine, it
should make ports from PC - as well as original development - very, very simple.
Additionally, 3DFX is also being used in many new arcade games and these should be
able to reach the new machine with no problem at all. SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE
should stress that Sega itself has made no announcement about its next generation
system, despite the huge amount of "BlackBelt" rumours currently circulating the
Internet (BlackBelt was a codename for the new machine). However, with 3DFX now
an affiliated company, Sega's future now looks brighter than ever before!

One of the first PC 3DFX conversions was Tomb Raider, which looks brllilliant! Can we expect
graphics of this quality in Sega's next console?

3DFX chipset power is the system of choice when running the forthcoming Quake 2 on PC (as pic-
tured above). This sort of rendering power is promised for the new Sega machine!

10 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

The best space combat engine bar none.

gp% pc Zane - h au g?

'■^.ELECTRONIC ARTS"

/'

\

\

A

w,

Beautu is in the eye of the controller.

yStation and Sega

o n

The most beautifully rendered,
fully-realised space combat
adventure ever created.
It's a heavenly way to die.

m

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33

HS3

3SZ

5W

S3

m

what's the big deal with this 2097

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

<. Think 3ofps
detailed 3D environs in a racing 3
that's what it was like on the PlayStation any way. Surprisingly

^ ■■ »> H

Hi

this with the 2097 edition, making

; basically, Psygnosis will be the first to admit that they had to rush
WHAT'S THE DEAL? I the first game onto the shelves to meet the launch of the UK

, the most ! PlayStation. There was tons of stuff they wanted to put
" ut couldn't because of that all-pervading ■—■*'■■
to put everything straight w" '

L The first thing they tackled w

with the original conversion of j
t of all, the frame rate. It was a smooth
on PlayStation, a poxy so on the Saturn. The game j it slightly easier to begin with.

" ,e speed and fluidity of the The next thing to ad

with the Saturn conversion. j only effect a clean hit to j _ _

The PlayStation game was super-playable with j in speed. For 2097, each craft has an
almost totally differ- ! down with heavy impacts on the sc
ent to control, the feeling of being at one with your vehicle almost ; weapons strikes. Should your energ., —

'on this later, but \ ness, it's Game Over. If you're getting low on juice, pit in to the
truly SORTED j energy lane at the beginning of the lap.

:d Super NES title), you'd be
j are big racing fans and
. r „ Mario Kart and F-Zero as two of their biggest '

Take the energy bars and handling of F-Zero, add

rush of speed and you have
; WipEout 2097!

j LICENSED MUSIC? NO

j One of the big draws for the average PlayStation p
" noted dance artistes on both WipEout

«**>'*' »''■'

iJiows off the dynamic internal viewpoint

utum

,mmi

! and it could be them who

Infact,

_.iow. Still, „„.

that WipEout 2097 should hit Euic
ng the game. It j time in August or September.

; games themselves \ Expect a full review of this top game sometii

Soccer and Assault ! next issue if the time is right! Regardless, expect :
taking place It"

FORMULA ONE IS COMING TO SATURN!

j you with little snippets of rumour
speculation, SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE can finally reveal
n version of Psyfinosis' bril-

can appear. The window for the '
is based expired a while ago, so

to SSM for more details. Oh, additionally, we

be are also handling the conversion of D
2 for the Saturn... And no, before you start
't had the opportunity to try out the" - J

J±~

■

'.*•*

kilHiiiiii

opes win pacK a

WI

COMING SOON

eputation x'or quality games!

la Icracking |beat | em |up

ore |updates|

high profile
51 Fighting Foi
neglected style of game to dizzy

| and professor in Theology, Dr Zeng ki

j would come in the year 2000. Days, v.

I years have past and the world still exists. Events that
; ring towards the turn of the century confirmed to Dr Zeng that
j the Armageddon was coming. For those who possessed the right
j knowledge and experience, the signs were clear. Zeng was so

... .„

MING SOON

FIGHTING FACES

Here's the range of
fighters available in
Fighting Force. They're
all skilled martial
artists, although by our
reckoning, half of them
are actually cleverer
than Albert Einstein or
indeed Carol Vodeiman!
You can bet they want
be using their grey mat-
ter to get the job done
though, unless Core's
programmers have
included the odd
Countdown Conundrum
or two in place of end-
level bosses!

X. /If Mr

HAWK MANSON
Age: 26

Height: 6'!"
Weight: ig61bs
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
IQ:i8 7

The lead character.
Hawk is a tough,
street-wise fighter who
packs enough muscle
to get the job done. He
wants Zeng out of his
city and aims to defeat
the madman with his
own bare fists.

MACE DANIELS
Age: ai

Height: 5'7"
Weight: i261bs
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Green
IQ: zoo

A ballsy female private
eye, Mace Daniels has
been on the trail of
Zeng for a number of
years and always sus-
pected that the crazy
Doc had bigger plans
for humanity.

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

COMING SO

" ^ fr.r. ■ ^^"^m" 1 1 1 ^"^ ■ 1

HI

>

•

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

MM

m

m mm

The lift stops e

give the heroes a good kicking. By using the available space
: their attacks and are ev
through the elevator's glass pa:
ny floors below. Upon reach
il to stop Zeng from escapin
ipt) and pursue him

■a

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HB

: may have borrowed certain techniques and ideas
existing scrolling beat 'em ups, it's safe to say I"

M NG SOON

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: effect, creating an atmosphere

Sega Rally Championship
selling CD game of all time. So why are we
s flagship titles? Weill

ago, but failed to arise as it was

mSmm i mmmmm

owners are likely to be playing in only

' PlayStation title this month to turn up on

togSg

despite the high pra

weren't entirely satisfied with the finished PS version of

had in mind for the game failed to

THE PLOT THICKENS..

SfflS

BBS

■K t are called to a place known

Jp 9 &' series of grisly murders and

Bravo Team, with whom all i.

After a brief encounter in th<

:ics and Air Rescue Service) Alpha '
i City to i

which, unknown to the
which they have neve:
to the recovery oi

i before. Further investigation

IM NG SOON

^71

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esidenl
997 an

^|one |oi [the jraost [anticipated|

Sega Sat

^(looking [extremely |close |to (the |origiraI

aturn titles

THE EVIL WITHIN

Put simply, RED is a disturbing and harrowing
players are proud to say they have endured and ■
to guide Chris oi Jill around the dingy, c

But that's all by the by, the main interest of RED is clearly the
' ice. To my mind there's no other videogame as bla-
, gory and

a zombie as a fountain of blood erupts from betv

of the most shocking, yet strangely satisfying moments in

l^rciTWngiTiTiTll

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SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 23

MARVEI
SUPER

Suner Heroes is coming to the
What's more, SEGA SATURN
by RICH LEADBETTER

iLJiam

M*SS

m

mm

mm

m

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COMING SOON

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[capable \oi |a [memorable [Uarvel [translation !|
the [graphics [are [arcade [periect|

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wmssssmm

WE'VE SEEN THE PLAYSTATION VERSION TOO

1111111

—

Jggfal

COM NG SO

THE VILLAINS!
The selection of villains
in MSH is a bit hit or

Magneto, yes.
Doctor Doom, definite-
ly. Juggernaut? Ei...
Black heart? Eh? Shuma
Goiath? You whatl

JUGGERNAUT

Another character
back by popular
demand. Equivalent to
the Hulk in terms of
strength, speed and
mass. Juggernaut's
been toned down from
his boss-level perfor-
mance in X-Men. Just
as well...

MAGNETO

Master of magnetism, a
powerhouse of terror!
Again, like Juggernaut,
he's been toned down
from his super-power-
ful status in X-Men, but
still has all the same
evil moves!

BLACKHEAKT

Capcom have recreated
Blackheart as a
Vampire Hunter kind of
character and he's
mega) His soul-rotting
powers make him one
of most original fight-
ers in any 2D brawler.

SHUMA GORATH

Shuma Goiath!?! He
cropped up very occa-
sionally to cause Doctor
Strange some aggrava-
tion but what's he
doing here? Still, the
imagination behind
this character is ace!

BOSS ONEi
DOCTOR DOOM

The best villain in the
whole world ever,
Doctor Doom combines
the technology of Iron
Man with the extraordi-
nary genius of Mr
Fantastic. Oh, and he's
also quite mad.

FINAL BOSS:
THANOS

This guy's just plain
lost it. Owner of the
omnipotent Infinity
Gauntlet, he's vastly
powerful. Now he's
decided to pick a fight
with all of creation!

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 27

45frlJiU'JU7l

PARKLIGHT CONFLICT

Considering the success of inter-stellar shoot 'em ups on the PC with X-Wing, Tie Fighter and so forth, it's perhaps odd that none have
filtered through to the Saturn. Enter Darklight Conflict... the first of many?

^;. I — li— 'ir

bay of the mother ship. The m

n briefing si

m outlines the nature of the tasks.

Wing Commander, bah! Who needs it when we have this, eh?

The cockpit view is rather less visually appealing than the oth-
ers, but allows players to view the control pannels of the craft.

Cue the inevitable caption of being about to "Wup ET's ass!",

THE PASSAGE OF TIME

Once players have alighted from the mother
ship, it becomes necessary to locate and pass
through the space portal device, linking
together the different play areas of the game.
Rather than being just a cut sequence between
levels however, the space portal device allows
players to replenish their ailin g energy bar by
collecting gold orbs whilst avoiding the energy
sapping blue orbs. Oh yeh, and it looks quite
spectacular as well.

he name "Rage Software" is one that
incites SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE to riot.
The British coders single-handedly robbed
Saturn owners of a decent conversion of
one of the greatest videogames ever created. Their half-
baked rendition of id software's classic Doom is one of
the worst ever seen. A crime for which they ought never
to be forgiven. By way of redeeming themselves some-
what, Rage's latest offering is a distant relative of the
classic Elite and could well turn out to be a very fine
blaster indeed.

Darklight Conflict features a plot worthy of a place
in the X-Files with references to the Roswell Incident,
Area 51, and alien DNA. But that's all by the by, as
Darklight Conflict is essentially a straightforward shoot
'em up. Players are required to pilot a variety of hi-tech
space crafts through 50 or so mission-based levels. Each
of these crafts are tooled up with an array of weaponry,
ranging from laser cannons to tractor beams, missiles
and smart bombs. Space crafts also come equipped with
a shield, surrounding them in a glowing aura to protect
the craft from incoming enemy fire, though excessive
use of the shield drains the energy generator rendering
the defences and weapons inoperable.

To begin with, players undergo a period of training
whereby they become familiar with controls of the craft
and encounter various simulated scenarios likely to crop
up when the missions begin proper. Therein prospective
pilots are taught the finer points of landing a multi-mil-
lion pound space craft and the targeting and annihila-
tion of other space craft. Once players have completed
their tough training regime, the game really gets going.

From hereon in the action is similar to Elite or X-
Wing. with players locating the space portal and travel-
ling through the time-space continuum which links the
various missions together. When players emerge in a
new galaxy, various mission objectives await them rang-
ing from cleansing sectors of space pirates to the more
bizarre tasks of mining ore from the asteroid belts.

Darklight Conflict is running on a most impressive
engine with decent speed, solid 3D space craft and some
spectacular lighting effects, albeit not quite on par with
the PlayStation version. When combined with the involv-
ing mission based gameplay and the uniqueness of this
title on the Saturn, EA could well have a winner on the
hands with Darklight Conflict. But you'll have to wait
until the next issue to know for sure.

Almost like a scene from one of the Bill and Ted's films, the
space portal takes your craft through the tubes of time.

28 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

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WARCMFTfcTHE DARK SAGA

The struggle of good versus evil resurfaces once again this month, this time with Electronic Arts' Mediaeval real-time war sim,
Warcraft 2: The Dark Saga.

eal-time point 'n' click war sims are very
popular at the moment on the PC, so it's
rattier disappointing that only the excellent
Command and Conquer has thus far arisen
on the Saturn. Keen to seize on the apparent niche in the
ja-brt market, EA are readying for release Warcraft 2: The
Dark Saga. Based on the popular PC game, the Saturn
rendition is a conversion of Warcraft 2 and the Portal
Expansion Pack, and could well prove to give the seem-
ingly untouchable C&C a good run for its money.

Warcraft 2 sets the player in a real-time
Mediaeval fantasy world where a ruthless clash
is underway between the human and Ore
civilisations battling for supremacy. Players
are able to take command of either of the
two opposing forces in an attempt to con-
struct and rule their mediaeval empire in
the land, sea and air. However, neither of
the two opposing factions are able to sim-
ply march over to the other's base and give
them a brutal kicking, after all, Warcraft is a strat-
egy game. Brutality comes later.

To begin with it's a case of forward planning, priori-
tising tasks and effective management of the limited
resources. For example, to amass a sizable army capable
of taking on any aggressors, players should begin by
training the local peasants. Training costs money which in
turn means that gold needs extracting from the mines by
the few available men. Once the peasants are trained
they need feeding, food comes from the farms, the farms
are built by the peasants after harvesting the forests and
so forth. Whilst this may sound quite complex requiring
hours of ploughing through a lengthy instruction manu-
al, the game is actually very simple to get to grips with

IT'S WAR OUT THERE!

Similar to Westwood Studios' immensely popu-
lar Command and Conquer, EA's Warcraft 2
allows players the opportunity to play as either
of the two warring factions. Take command of
the evil Ore population and watch in horror as
they brutally murder your fellow humans. Or
take command of the human civilisation and
kick some Ore ass all over the kingdom of
Azeroth with much bloodshed ensuing.

f3b

and accessible 1

Eventually players will have amassed a
force with which to advance into enemy territory
and execute with extreme prejudice their battle plan.
Therein players are able to command their troops with
the familiar point 'n click control method allowing orders
to be changed at a moments notice.

The alpha version of Warcraft 2 we've just taken
delivery of is shaping up extremely well and could pose
a serious threat to Command and Conquer's domina-
tion over this genre. Over 52 levels are promised for the
finished version, with different mission campaigns and
objectives set across over 100 customisable maps.
Watch out for the review in a forthcoming issue of
SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE.

The point 'it' click control method will appear
very familiar to veterans of (he classic C&C.

30 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

Mga (4oto^ wwtzA.

I've seen prettier mugshots on Crimewatch.

Doagy snips «^^rc::r"r^r rr a -

^^e" E^OSE S. 0n JS'« cases a^ s

The Chart Show, every Saturday oorning » 1"^.

-~:;-:^rS ? s^i:=----

Xoget^l^R^rt^rirof tfce Nation.

ers begging foz demo discs eithet, they
s to: VIRTUA WRITER, SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE, 37-39
— *■ sought after VF3 book!

DOOM DEBACLE... AGAIN.

Dear SSM

This letter may seem to be dredging up the past by
centring on spiked comments made by previous
EMAP editors (Mean Machines Sega, anyone?) but,
in the land of bated breath (ie Australia) where UK
periodicals are summarily delayed... by MONTHS, it
is quite timely. Almost.

Hence, the collective "kicking" cum murderous
assault exacted upon Saturn Doom. As one of the
slavering, Doom deprived Saturn faithful, I was
eager as anyone to give Doom a "fair shake". It's
obvious that Rage Software have stumbled badly
with this conversion but, Doom being Doom I
refused to accept that its payability was neutered.
Even as I grappled with the "gridlock" that is
Perfect Hatred perfectly cursing the curse of Rage,
I was never once deterred or remorsed by my pur-
chase (of Saturn Doom). Yes, the almighty
Exhumed has shown the pretenders a thing or two,
but let's face it, the kill count (in that game) was
well below par. At least Doom delivered, albeit in a
groggy stupor.

As to the pitiful ratings afforded to Saturn Doom in
both SSM and the dearly departed Mean Machines
Sega, how can you possibly justify 56% and 39%
respectively when your own hearty recommenda-
tions (for Alien Trilogy) are utter ARSE?
I bought this limp, wheezing excuse for a game on
the basis of many favourable reviews (yours
included). But, due to a broken control scheme and
the worst sprites I have ever seen in ANY GAME
(16-bit included), I immediately replaced

Unfortunately the harsh, virulent words that have
been heaped upon Doom by outstanding journos
like Angus Swan and Richard Leadbetter cannot be
replaced, nor redeemed and we the Saturn-loving
community must bear the scars forever. Shame
gentlemen, shame!

Steven Wrangell, Australia

j m This comment may seem to be dredging
^^^ up the past by centring on spiked com-
ments made by current EMAP Editor Richard
Leadbetter, when I deliver with vigour a quote
from the outstanding aforementioned journo
taken from a previous UK periodical.
"Rampant stupidity is rife the world over. I
won't rest until such fools are unmasked... and
eliminated." Bear the scars of that, Steve. LEE

Worst sprites in any game, eh? Presumably
you've never played Dark Castle on the
Megadrive? I stand by my words: Saturn Doom
truly is an abomination and yes I would rather
play Alien Trilogy. Additionally, why don't you
get a subscription so you can take part in
more... contemporary debates? RICH

BOOK WINNER j

MOTHER PLAYS >

GAMES SENSATION! 1

Dear SSM

It's really good to hear that |
Quake is finally coming to I

the Saturn and me and my

other Saturn owning mates 1

can't wait to get hold of a copy. However, would-
n't it be extremely nice for a change if Sega got
their cheque books out and bought the rights to
it? Or even an injunction to stop all those
PlayStation perverts from having a version. I'm
sure this game would make the Saturn even
more desirable and give Sega the chance to
actually flog a few units and also make a few
customers happy. Sony do it all the time, so why
can't Sega?

I couldn't find Sega's address so I thought I'd
hassle you lot instead. All I want to say is "We
want King of Fighters '96!!!" Preferably the
cart/CD combination at a reasonable price. And
if Sega want proof that us Europeans are worthy
of such a game I can get a list of at least ten
names from my Saturn owning mates. Actually
that includes me mum 'cos she's playing
Exhumed at the minute. And that's just the
startl! So let's see some action Sega!
Matthew, Durham

* t I'm willing to bet every last penny of
^&^ Rich's bank account that the Saturn
versions of Quake and Duke Nukem 3D are
going to be superior to the PlayStation ver-
sions. After all, they 'ie being programmed
by the people responsible for the amazing
Exhumed. Likewise both of these games will
be available on the Saturn some time before
the PS versions arrive. As for your second
point, KoF 95 CD/cart pack will be available
soon (check out the review this very issue).
No doubt Sega are waiting to gauge the suc-
cess of this before releasing KoF '96, but
hopefully it shouldn't be too long. LEE

Williams are allegedly doing PS Quake, but
they only seem to want to talk about Quake
64, which has got me thinking whether
they're doing it at all. Besides, the fact that
Quake will appear on Saturn first and the
fact that it will be such a monumental tech-
nical achievement is much better than lock-
ing out all those "PlayStation perverts".
Besides I own a PlayStation and I'm not that
much of a pervert. True I haven't actually
powered it up since I finished WipEout 2097,
but regardless... RICH

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!

Dear SSM

I am not going to say that your mag is cool and
you do such a great job 'cos you don't. I recently
read in your mag that Bug Too! was set for a
January release so I went to my local Came store
, and they explained that it was to be released in
l April. I also read on the Swagman review that it
1 was set for an April release but when I rang Came
to ask what date they said it was set for a summer
release. Please get your facts straight in the futurel
Tom Foster

It's a well known fact that release dates of
games are notoriously unreliable as they
inevitably slip back for reasons unknown to us.
However, they are completely accurate at the
time of writing and it is not our intention to
deceive readers in any way. For a more detailed
account of why specific games are slipping
back why not ring up the software company in
question instead of getting all worked up and
hassling us? LEE

THE SATURN 32X EMULATOR

Dear SSM

Why doesn't Sega (or a third party) produce a car-
tridge adapter so that Megadrive and 32X carts fit
into the Saturn and produce a CD that instructs
the Saturn to act as either of these machines? I
don't know if it's possible but I'd purchase one
forthwith. I think. If they were cheap that is,
Michael Tiernon, Newcastle

* - If such a device were at all possible, I'm
^^^ sure that someone would have made one
by now. Besides, the cream of the retro games
crop always tend to emerge on the Saturn any-
way, such as the excellent Sega Ages package
and the fantastic forthcoming Sonic lam so
forget your extra plastic add-on bits. The
Saturn's got it all! LEE

HfflEiH

SATURN 64: FACT OR FICTION?

Dear SSM

I and many of my friends want to get something
clear so please can you help us out. In Issue 11 I
wrote to you asking about the possibility of a
Saturn 64 and back then you said 'No" Since then
there have been many reports especially one about
DVD making a Saturn 64 coming from all over the
place. Then in other magazines of PlayStation and
Nintendo 64 they say the Saturn will be dead by the
end of the year and you say it won't. I know the
Saturn has ages left yet but is there any truth in the
64-bit rumours or will there ever be one. Don't get
me wrong, I think the Saturn is a brilliant machine
with the likes of VF3, Street Fighter vs X-Men,
Resident Evil and Marvel Super Heroes on the way.
The Saturn will be the greatest console of the year,
but will Sega ever match the power of the
Nintendo?

Kirrana Tamang, London

J ^ We're not in the habit of printing
^^^ rumours that are bandied about other
publications as if they were fact. However, it
would be a safe bet to say that Sega, Sony and
even Nintendo are looking towards producing a
new console to keep up with rapidly advancing
technology. As to the Saturn being dead by the
end of the year, this is purely a scare tactic to
discourage people from buying a Saturn.
Compared with Sega's awesome software line-
up this year {check out this month's news pages
for starters) Sony look set to have their weakest
year thus far and similarly with Nintendo expe-
riencing a severe software drought. LEE

S&M SPECIALIST WRITES...

Dear SSM

Last August I was saving up for a Nintendo 64 and
I was continually slagging off the Saturn. Oh dear.
Then I played it and played it and played it.
Eventually my friend had to tie me up with dress-
ing gown cords to keep me off Guardian Heroes
but he could not restrain me. Yes, I was addicted.
After burning my way through several Nintendo
magazines I scrapped my plans for a N64.
Christmas Day came and rny Saturn arrived. Surely
you say this letter is a bit late. This is due to me
not being able to get off the Saturn until last

night when my friend came round and prised me
off with a crowbar.

Could you please tell Sega to issue a health warn-
ing on their games so that I can have a good
night's sleep.

James Baker, Brighton
PS Is Red Alert coming to the Saturn?

, - I sympathise with your friend, as I often
W^ have to tie my girlfriend up with dress-
ing gown cords when she's playing with my
equipment, which also prevents me from hav-
ing a good night's sleep. As for Red Alert... well,
no news yet we're afraid. LEE

WWF-OFF!

Dear SSM

What the hell was Alex Gladwin going on about
when he said WWF wasn't outdated and the
PlayStation is better than the Saturn. I think he's
talking out of his arse.

First of all why are you buying and writing into SSM
if you have a PlayStation and think that it's better
than the Saturn? Hmm... very strange.
WWF is as outdated as tank tops. How old are you
anyway, by the look of your letter I'd say about six-
teen and when WWF wasn't outdated it mainly
attracted kids of about 10-12. 1 think I'd better tell you
that the wrestlers aren't really hitting each other and
it'sjust pretend. I would rather see a Polaroid of
Richard Leadbetter naked than fat, hairy, sweaty men
running about in leotards.

I'm also annoyed with what Alex Charles and David
Metcalf wrote about Nights and Christmas Nights
being crap. Well I think 99.9% of the people that
have played NiCHTS would disagree with you. They
also said when would Sega get their act together
because when you look at your Out Now section
most of the games are rubbish. I'd have to agree with
you on that. I mean there's only over thirty games
with 90% and over and 20 games with 80% or over.
Who wants 50 excellent Saturn games when you can
have five good PlayStation titles or three good
N64 games?

John Merneaf, Lancashire

j m We've received quite a disturbing number
~^^r of requests begging, no pleading for the
nude photos of Rich to be published. However
our bashful Editor insists that as long as he's at
the helm of the good ship SSM that no such freak
show will arise. However, he's about to bugger
off to the other side of the pond for a holiday so
keep your eyes peeled for our very next issue. No
promises mind. LEE

Briefly...

Dear SSM

I have been a loyal Sega fan for many years now
but feel disillusioned with Sega and their power-
house console, the Saturn. Why is it that third
party support is declining? Shinny Entertainment
are no longer bringing out Wild Nines and Bullfrog
are no longer committed to the platform. Am I
right to feel disillusioned with the current
Saturn scene?

Paul Casson, Kent

In a word, "no". It is true that some
~^r third party developers have withdrawn
their support, but what we're left with is
quality over quantity, the complete opposite
to the dilemma Sony are faced with. The
astounding Duke Nukem 3D, Quake,
Fighting Force, Tomb Raider 2, Marvel Super
Heroes, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Grandia and
loads of SNK stuff shows the awesome quali-
ty of third party titles to be released this
year, all of them Saturn firsts. LEE

Dear SSM

Why has Sega not got around to releasing a link
cable yet? I own Sega Rally and was most disap-
pointed to learn there was no link-up option. The
split-screen mode is good but a little confusing.
Now if it was full screen it could have been less
confusing, more detailed and probably a bit faster.
I think this is the reason Sony's machine sold well
was because they had a link-cable available
straight from its release.
Chris Johnson, Lines

I The link-up cable hasn't been released
~^ for two reasons. Firstly there's not
enough games with link-up capabilities to
justify its release. Secondly you need to have
two televisions, two Satums, two copies of
the game and the link-up cable to be able to
play in link-up mode. Whilst this may be
great for games mags like ours, it's largely
unpractical for your average Saturn owner.
Sony themselves have realised this and have
now dropped the link-up cable for the
PlayStation and are actively encouraging
developers NOT to use it in the future.
Intriguing. LEE

DEAR SSM

I am writing to you to talk about VF3 and the
accelerator cartridge. When people buy games
they want the best quality and when I was read-
ing Issue 15 you said that VF3 would need an accel-
erator cartridge to cope with the power of the
game. So what I'd like to know is whether this is
true, how much will it be and when will VF3

Simon Bardwetl, Ipswich

see fit to interrupt our busy work schedule,
there's no official word on whether the
accelerator cartridge even exists. Therefore
to tell you any specifications, price or release
dates would be pure speculation. However, if
it's rumours you're after, just buy Saturn
Power. He, he. LEE

Another month, another super-exciting edition of Q+A. Actually, I have to
admit that your questions were a lot more interesting this month. However, I've
still got missives from the last Q+A to help me should I have any more prob-
lems sleeping. Here we go then: more hardcore responses from the Master,
Richard Leadbetter, and Sega Europe Overfiend Mark Maslowicz. Send your
questions (be interesting) to INSOMNIA-CURING Q+A, SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE,
37-39 Millharbour, London E14 9TZ. Get scribbling!

PATH
Dear SSM

Since you' magazine is the best in the world, I was hop-
ing you could answer a few questions.

1. I've got SWWS '97, virtua Cop 2, Sega Rally. Daytona
USA, VF2 and FIFA '97 for my Saturn. What should I
get next?

2. When is SWWS 98 coming out?

3. Any chance of some SWWS '97 cheats?

4. I've saved up £70 so do you think 1 should get the
Virtua Gun or a new game?

5. What's best out of Die Hard Arcade and Die
Hard Trilogy?

6. Who do you think is the best fighter in VF:?

Karl Skott, Huntingdon.

^ S_ i- You should really have Exhumed and
^^^ NiGHTS in your collection to be honest. 2.
October. 3, We've printed them already. Twice, 4. You
should have a gun. And NiGHTS and the analogue
controller. 5. DHA is cooler technically, but DHT has
more last ability. 6. Aldra by a huge margin, although
he is difficult to master. Unless you ARE the Master!

DIE HARD TRILOGY FETISHIST
Dear Q+A

I get your mag every week (50 you buy the same issue
four times? Rich) and think it is wicked. Please print my
letter as ! would love to see it in a mag like yours.
1. Which is best, the Sega Virtua Gun or the Predator Light

2. 1 am looking at Die Hard Trilogy for my next purchase. Is
it true it is three games on one disc? Can you play it with-
out a gun?

3. Is there a library where you can borrow Saturn games?
4. 1 get £32 a week and I will get £30 a week from October
onwards. I have these games: WipEout. Sega Rally, VFj.
Manx TT, Tomb Raider, Hardcore 4x4. What should I get
after Die Hard?

5. Have you played Tomb Raider 2 and is it any good?

6. Which will be best, VF3 or Fighters MegaMix? Having
VF2 which would you advise me to get?

7. Is it true you're doing demo discs with every issue

Matt Thompson, West Sussex.

l/ AS 3 1. I'd personally stick with the Virtua Gun. 2.

~^^ You obviously didn't read the review. But in
answer to your questions, yes it has three different
gameplay types and yes you can play it with a gun. 3.
It's called Blockbuster Video. 4. You should get
Exhumed, NiGHTS, Virtua Cop, Virtua Cop 2, Street
Fighter Alpha 2, Fighters MegaMix and Sega
Worldwide Soccer '97 BEFORE you go anywhere near
Die Hard Trilogy. 5. No. Can't tell yet. 6. 1 refuse to
compare a game that's out to one that no-one has
seen outside of AM 2. 7. We will do demo discs when
we have quality ones to put on the cover.

ANY MORE NEWS?
Dear SSM

I've been reading your mag since it came out so I thought
it was time to write in. Please could you answer my ques-
tions? Pleasel

1. Should I swap VF2 for Fighters MegaMix?

2. Will House of the Dead come out for Saturn?

3. Any more news on Resident Evil?

4. Which is better in terms of testability. Theme Park or
Mass Destruction?

5. What on Earth is Virtual Hydlide as I saw it for £io and
was thinking of buying it?

6. Will Micro Machines V3 come to Saturn?

Lloyd Savickas, Bristol

j r 1. No. But you should have BOTH in your col-
■^^ lection. 1. It's a distinct possibility, but no
plans have been mentioned yet. 3. If there is, it'll be in
the mag. Should be before Christmas though. 4. 1
refuse to compare two totally different games. It's
pointless. 5. It's a boring RPG, not really worth C10.
Save your cash for Shining the Holy Ark. 6. Yes, at the
end of the summer hopefully.

OH DEAR
Dear SSM,

I am considering selling my Sega Saturn and getting a
PlayStation because Saturn doesn't bring out enough
games and when they do they aren't half as good as the
PlayStation ones. All my mates at school say PlayStation is
better and can handle a lot more graphical effects.
Please help mel

Tony Campion, Burnley

r A^ Point one: there are less games for the Saturn
"^^ but they are generally of a higher quality.
Point two: the most exciting games come to Saturn
first: Exhumed, Tomb Haider, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D
and loads more. Point three: many Saturn versions
are superior to the PS ones like Street Fighter Alpha
(and Alpha 2), Exhumed, Hexen, Night Warriors... and
plenty more! Point four: the best coin-ops in the
world come from Sega and they're all SATURN
EXCLUSIVE! Point five: yes, generally PlayStation

games have flashier visuals, but there has never been
a graphical effect on PS that has not been done on the
Saturn. FACT. Besides, gameplay is more important. If
you want the best games, stick with the Saturn.

WHEN THE HELL?!?

Dear SSM

Your mag is totally cool and this is the first time I've written

so please answer my questions.

1. When the hell is that wonderful game Scud Race coming
to Saturn?

2. Will the Saturn version of Last Bronx be as good as it
looks in your Sega Flash CD?

3. Any decent platformers coming out soon?

Adam Lee, Leeds

1. There has been no announcement from AMz... yet.

2. Yes and expect some huge surprises with that game.

3. The new Sonic game will amaze you. In the mean-
time try out Pandemonium. It's cool.

The questions that come up

time and time again are
I answered in this lichle sec-
tion of Q+A. For the fastest answers,
come here FIRST !

i. Which is better, Quake or Duke Nukem 3D?

jMj Well how can we compare one unfinished
■^^ game to another? If it's any help, both
titles are sufficiently different to warrant pur-
chase. They will both be awesome but at this stage
it's impossible to recommend one over the other.

2. Is it worth getting FIFA '97?

jj- Most people seem attracted to FIFA
■^^^ because of the fact that the Premiership
teams are in there. Look, the game is barely aver-
age and Worldwide is far, far superior. Worldwide
'98, due in October, will have Premiership teams
and will be ACE!

a Cop 3?

AM2 rarely divulge any of their plans.
"-^^ However, the leak that told us about Scud
Race about 18 months ago did mention a Cop 3.
Similarly, it's unlikely that AM2 would bring an
end to one of their most successful franchises.

_^ip No. When we know anything, we'll put it
~3^ in the news section. Not Q+A.

34 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

ON SALE 11 JUNE!!

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e hero ofyesfepyeap, Sonic Tne Heugenog!

If Sonic World is any indication
of things to come, then readers
are fully justified in wetting
their pants.

36 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

he Sonic Team has produced some of the finest video
games the world has ever seen. Cases in point: Sonic the
Hedgehog, which sold ovei 14 million copies worldwide,
and the utterly incredible NiGHTS. The latter surpassed
all previous expectations of Sonic Team, being hailed as one of the
most visually splendid and cunningly crafted video games of all
time. However as good as NiGHTS was, legions of Sonic fanatics
around the globe have grown restless waiting for their speedy hero
to appear on Saturn. Sonic 3D Blast was merely an upgraded 16-bit
stopgap and was never even released in Japan, So upon completion
of NiGHTS Sonic Team began work on what has since become known
as Project Sonic, Now to quash any rumours you may have read else-
where, Project Sonic is not the name of the new 32-bit Sonic title to be
released later in the year. Instead the mysterious title is actually Sega
of Japan's new initiative to reintroduce Sonic to the gaining commu-
nity. Many Saturn owners may have missed out on the Sonic phe-
nomenon the first time around as they were too old, too young or
out sniffing glue or something. So phase one of Sega's two- pronged
attack on the gaming public is the imminent release of Sonic Jam.

Essentially a compilation disc featuring the MegaDrive hits Sonic
the Hedgehog 1-3 and Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic Jam is intended to
kickstart the Sonic licence which has been languishing in gaming
limbo for the past few years. As great as this is, the main focus has not
been on the classic 16-bit games but on the all-new front end entitled
Sonic World. Acting as an interactive manual with graphics riv allin g
those of Mario 64 this is possibly the best indication of what to expect
from phase two of Project Sonic later this year (THE big Sonic title). In
the meantime, we have one of the few copies of Sonic Jam outside of
Japan and are now about to exclusively reveal it in all its splendour.

SHOWCASE

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buildings, rivers, bridges, platforms, golden rings and b
everything you'd expect to find in a Sonic game (excf

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SHOWCASE

The ending from the Sonic CD
game is an awesome anime-
style cartoon featuring a tri-
umphanl Sonic and his pal Tails.

MOVIE THEATRE

By far the most impressive of the museums to visit, the Movie
Theatre features leels of high quality FMV movies to watch. In
fact, there's so much footage crammed into this mini cinema it
makes us wonder how the hell they managed to fit it all onto one
disc! To begin with visitors to the movie theatre are able to view
the opening and ending anime-style movies to Sonic CD, accom-
panied by the cheesy tunes of "Sonic Warrior" and "Believe In
Yourself". Judging by the unpopularity of the Mega CD it's fair to
say that most Saturn owners won't have seen these cartoons
before so they definitely make a welcome addition to the pack,
Alas, the full Sonic CD game isn't included.

Following on from that are a couple of cartoons featuring
Sonic battling it out with Dr Robotnik which concludes with the
mysterious message: "To Be Continued..." Make of that what you
will. Other cool stuff in the movie theatre include an excellent
first person perspective view of Sonic tearing round a CG rendi-
tion of the Green Hill Zone, destroying Badniks and shedding his
rings along the way. Perhaps the most entertaining of all the
movies however are the bizarre series of Japanese television com-
mercials produced to promote the Sonic games. The Sonic 3 com-
mercial still reduces the SSM team to fits of uncontrollable laugh-
ter as various members of the Japanese public are possessed by
Sonic and end up running around the streets of Tokyo Sonic-style.
Also included are commercials for some of the Game Gear Sonic
titles, Sonic CD, Sonic 2 and a whole host of others.

Footage from the Sonic Drift
commercial sees Sonic speeding
around a racing track with his
woodland chums giving chase.

Above left: Yep, even the Game Gear Sonic commercials are in here. Right: Sonic loses
his rings after an encounter with a Badnik in the CG version of the Green Hill Zone.

HALL OF FAME

Visit the Hall of Fame and players may leaf through a
catalogue of Sonic games with their respective worldwide
release dates around the world and a wealth of other impor-
tant Sonic facts. From the original conception of Sonic the
Hedgehog in April 1990, through the Sega/Cherry Coke Tour
in 1993 to the recent release of the Sonic and Knuckles
Collection on the PC. In fact, just about every single Sonic
game and related event ever is to be found in here!

ART GALLERY

As the name suggests, the Alt Gallery is a collection of images
featuring the world's number one spiky blue hedgehog in a vari-
ety of degrading and image tarnishing poses. From Sonic doing
the shopping to Sonic on the ski slopes, there are a wealth of
high resolution pictures to flick through. In addition a range of
artwork featuring Miles "Tails" Prower and Sonic's other wood-
land chums has been included for your viewing pleasure.

CHARACTER HOUSE

The Character House is quite similar to the Art Gallery as it
features some of the original sketches and other pieces of art-
work featuring Dr Robotnik and his menacing Badnik cre-
ations. Every single Badnik from each of the four MegaDrive
Sonic games is included in this museum in one form or
another. From the pesky Caterkillers of the original Sonic the
Hedgehog to the havoc -wreaking Mushmeanies of Sonic and
Knuckles, they're all in there for you to peruse at your
leisure. Add to this a zoom feature allowing players to view
all the artwork up close and what you have is a comprehen-
sive gallery of all Sonic's diabolical opponents.

"SK

38 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

SHOWCASE^

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off with speed, and after all, Sonic is
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be there to get all the latest on what is possibly this year's
anticipated Saturn title. So as long as he doesn't do his us
, ious amounts of shandy, a full report or
of Project Sonic and the rest of Sega's a\
ry next issue!

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ing rings along the way.

SHOWCASE!

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LOCK-ON, TUNE IN AND DROP OUT!

Casting aside all the 3D loveliness of f

; four MegaDrive hits Sonic the Hedgehog 1-3 and
les appearing on one disc in pixel perfect form.
11 be elated to know that each game has been left
that they all play, look and sound exactly

we all fondly 1

those of you who want a 1
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perform his trademar'
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play through the main game pre

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ic and Knuckles, which was backwardly (
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GAME SELECT

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

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SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2

Anticipation for the sequel to the immensely popular Sonic
The Hedgehog reached fever pitch by November '92 or "Sonic
Tuesday" as it had been dubbed in the UK. The press
Sonic Team to deliver a game that was superior to original
immense and they didn't disappoint. The graphics were much
improved over the original with chunkier more detailed sprites
and backgrounds and a more variety between levels. It ■
the same sort of leap that was later made with Sonic 3 but this
was a worthy addition to the Sonic series nevertheless. The
gameplay was also a lot faster than the original and a damn
sight tougher too, malting Sonic 2 a more lasting experience
than its predecessor.

Sonic himself benefited from the addition of a brand new
Spin Dash attack which allowed him to attain full speed with-
out a run-up, thereby evading any impending danger. He '
also joined by one of his woodland chums, Miles "Tails"
Prower, a flying fox no less who could be controlled by a si
ond player to assist Sonic throughout the game.

Sonic gathers pace on the awesome loop-the-loop.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3

The amount of graphical detail in Sonic 3 is astonishing.

A new special stage had also
been added in place of the flat,
rotating special stage from the
first Sonic. The all-new special stag
had Sonic running through a roller-
coaster-like section of tubing, col-
lecting rings and avoiding bombs
until eventually collecting each of
the seven Chaos Emeralds. The same
stage was later revamped for the Saturn
version of Sonic 3D Blast using a 3D
polygon, light-sourced Sonic which looked
even more impressive. It came as no surprise
that this section was programmed by the Sonic
Team themselves, whereas the rest of the g
was programmed by Traveller's Tales. Sonic 2
proved to be a huge improvement o'
original and was popular enough to warrant
a further sequel, the imaginatively titled
Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Upon its release, Sonic 3 was heralded as the best game in the Sonic trilogy and it's easy to
see why. The sequel used a whole new graphical engine which meant that the game's
visuals were more polished than ever before with legions of Badniks and the largest lew-
els witnessed in any Sonic game. These levels were incredibly varied and detailed with
each Zone's scenery improving on previous outings with more colour, textures and set-
tings. The level designs were also quite different to previous Sonic games, with each Zone
benefiting from increased height as well as width. This greatly increased the scope for
exploration, with multiple routes available, and made the third instalment less linear
than previous efforts.

However, whilst Sega ensured that Sonic 3 looked amazing, they also man-
to retain the playability of the first two games and even improved upon it.
A wealth of bonus stages were added which pushed the boundaries of the
, MegaDrive's technology even further. The Chaos Zone special stage has
Sonic running across the surface of a huge spherical planet collecting blue
spheres and avoiding red spheres in order to be rewarded with a Chaos Emerald.

Left: The special stages far the second Sonic outing are much improved, featuring
an awesome 30 tunnel section later revamped for the recent Sonic 3D Blast!

Sonic 3 also debuted another supporting character in the form of Knuckles the
Echidna whom Sonic has to contend with whilst battling Dr Robotnik. New powei-ups
have been included which surround Sonic in an aura, each of which has different capabil-
ities allowing him to breath underwater, walk through fire and act as a magnet for rings.
The break -neck speeds of the previous two games have been retained and some of the
most amazing set-pieces ever seen are in abundance throughout. Add to this the awe-
two-player split-screen mode first seen in Sonic 2, which allowing two players to
compete head-to-head in one of six different zones, and what you have is an incredible
addition to the series. Simply put. Sonic 3 is a breathtaking game where there's never a
dull moment and is only surpassed when combined with Sonic and Knuckles.

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 41

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£JHB& Bl

Collecting the extra lives which

els becomes essential for players
wishing to complete the game.

GET HYPER!

The Sonic series of games are certainly unique in that they
cater for the varying degree of the players' gaming ability.
Newcomers to the Sonic phenomenon are able to simply run
through each of the levels in a time trial-like way and safely
reach the exit. More experienced Sonic gamers are able to col-
lect all the Chaos Emeralds and rings to finish the game proper-
ly. Wheieas the most talented players will strive to become
Super Sonic and then Hyper Sonic by collecting Chaos Emeralds
and Super Chaos Emeralds!

SONIC AND KNUCKLES

The fourth gripping instalment of the Sonic series saw the return of Knuckles the
Echidna in a starring role alongside Sonic himself. The cause of much nuisance in
Sonic 3 had now become a playable character, adding a whole new dimension to the
usual Sonic gameplay through his increased variety of moves. Knuckles has the ability
to glide, climb walls and smash through thicker walls and
stone blocks allowing him to reach areas previously
inaccessible to Sonic alone.

The game engine of Sonic and Knuckles is actually
an evolution of the Sonic 3 engine which is apparent in
the similarities between the two titles. A lot of the bosses
and set-pieces were repeated from Sonic 3 and indeed the
game pretty much looks like an enhanced version of Sonic's
third outing. As a result Sonic and Knuckles alone is possibly
the weakest of the Sonic series. That said, when used in con-
junction with any of the previous Sonic games, via the "Lock -On
System", whole new avenues are opened up and this is where
Sonic and Knuckles really excels.

The Lock-On System was unique at the time and the same is
true today. Basically the game arrived as a plug-through cartridge with
two ends, one of which is slotted into the MegaDrive and the other
end allows previous MD Sonic titles to be added. The two car-
tridges combined add a number of features to previous Sonic
games and even creates all-new games as follows:

jJSL^i&aj c-^^aa 1 '

The Sandopolis zone features all manner of set pieces that would put other platformers
to shame. From the moving stone slabs to the sand slides, the variety is amazing!

SONIC AND KNUCKLES WITH SONIC 1

"GET BLUE SPHERES!"

Add these two titles together and a whole new game is creat-
ed from the special stage of Sonic 3. This is
the ultimate test of a players wits and
game playing skills as Sonic r
around the surface of a huge
spherical planet collecting blue
balls and dodging the red ones.
With literally hundreds of
thousands of levels to tackle,
the Sonic 1/ Sonic and Knuckles
combo is an extremely lengthy and
enjoyable game in its own right.

l\I>/#

42 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

SHOWCASE

* Left: That's right folks! Your eyes do not deceive you. That's Knuckles

. We can haidly wait!

INTERVIEW

M

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arduous developmenf process

SSM What is the origin of the Saturn conversion of Last Bronx?
AA The arcade version of Last Bronx was introduced to the
market in June of '96, and we immediately started receiving
many requests for a Saturn conversion. This is the major reason
for the decision. The original arcade development staff are in
charge of this conversion, in order to achieve the quality that all
those fans are expecting.

SSM When did yon start the conversion and what were your aims?
AA The official announcement of Last Bronx on the Saturn was
made on 8 November 1996 and that is the exact date when this
project was started. The key element of this conversion is to

reproduce the play feel of the original arcade game. However, at
the same time, we will accomplish both "quality of graphics"
and "real 3D battle fields" at the highest level seen amongst
Saturn polygon fighting games.

SSM Virtua Fighter is obviously a highly popular game.

What makes Last Bronx a different

game?

AA In Last Bronx, characters have
more unique motions by utilising
different weapons. Also, all the
stages in the game are actual
locations in Tokyo, characters'
fashions are based on real teenagers
clothes and characters are tied
together in a very complicated
mutual relationship.

SSM Is It true that the original
arcade team behind Last Bronx axe
carrying out the conversion to
Saturn? Were any Saturn program
min g experts added to the team 01
did they already have experience
with the system?

AA The Last Bronx arcade staff are in
charge of the Saturn conversion.
However, for all of us, including myself,
this will be our first Saturn game.

SSM How large is the conversion team and how is the team split
in terms of designers, programmers and artists.

AA Unfortunately, we cannot answer this question, at this
moment.

SSM Did you have any worries about the capabilities of the

Saturn compared to the

Model 2 arcade board? Obviously the Saturn Isn't quite as

powerful...

AA As you can understand, Last Bronx was made with the

hardware capability of Model 2 first of all. Model a is a high-end

CG board, where as the Saturn is a general purpose games

machine. We have to admit, we have had some anxiety...

SSM Was there any point in the conversion process where you
looked at the arcade game and thought "this just can't be done
on the humble Saturn"? If so, how did you manage to do
overcome the problem you faced?

AA There are hidden characters
called Grey and Metal. An invented
technique "pseudo-environmental
texture mapping" is being utilised,
which was created through the
efforts of highly skilled program-
mers. "Environmental texture
mapping" is used for mirror-like
effects, such as Virtua Fighter 3's
Dural, where surfaces reflect their
surrounding scenery. This effect is
supported by Model 3, but not
Model 2. However, our program-
mers managed to achieve it with
the Model 2 board by boosting the
capability of the hardware to its
maximum. It seems like reproduc-
ing such effects on the Saturn is
extremely tough. Also, motion
captured characters' clothes (and
female characters' bouncing chests)
will be very tough to convert onto
the Saturn.

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 45

The character close-ups at
the end of each round show
the amount of hi-res detail in
the Last Bronx fighters.

SSM What is the process 1 01 bringing across a character from the
Model a arcade board to the Saturn?

AA We initially used the arcade version's polygon models and
started adjusting the number of polygons, texture resolution
and colour of textures, to create all new models for the Saturn.

SSM How do yon bring the movement of the characters across
from arcade to Saturn? Obviously there is less memory to use
with the Saturn.

AA Yes, the amount of motion data for the arcade game is
enormous, but the key point of Last Bronx is its unique
gameplay feeling. Almost no data was removed from this part.

SSM Does Last Bronx use the Saturn's high-resolution mode, like
Virtua Fighter a, or low-resolution, like Fighting Vipers?
AA Neither are exactly copied. Just Like I mentioned earlier, we
used different methods to achieve both better graphics and speed.

SSM The backgrounds in Virtua Fighter a on Saturn are 3D.
What are your plans for Last Bronx? Can you keep up the
speed with polygon backgrounds?

AA We used polygons for objects in the foreground and several
2D images for backgrounds. As a result, we believe the depth
represented in this title is better than any other 3D fighting
game for the Saturn. You can see the difference when the
winning replay sequence is shown from different camera angles.

r ?K

SSM Some arcade conversions have lower frame rates compared
to the original yet Last Bronx appears to run at 60 frames per
second like the arcade game. What difficulties did this present
to the arcade team?

AA When the project was started, we made up our minds to quit
development of Last Bronx unless 60 fps could be achieved. It is
quite obvious that the fast movement of weapons is the key to
the fun factor of the game and cannot be reproduced without
the high frame rate. However, because of those weapons, we
believe the Last Bronx characters hit detection routines are
much heavier than those of Virtua Fighter. Additionally, we
have those graphic difficulties to overcome. No single part of
this conversion has been easy so far.

SSM The blur of the weapons' movement was impressive in the
arcade game. What difficulties does this present with the Saturn

AA Since we received very good reaction from arcade players, the
motion blurred weapons will remain in the Saturn version.
However, some arrangements will have to be made, as the
resolution of Saturn is different.

SSM Although Last Bronx has stunning graphics, it also has some
very intricate gameplay including a very precise collision
detection system - how was this brought across to the Saturn?

AA As we keep mentioning, reproducing the same gameplay feel
of the arcade version is our highest priority and accurate hit
detection of weapons will also be one of the main factors. We
started our programming from this point, as we cannot proceed
further without establishing the base of this program.

SSM Last Bronx appeared in a playable form at the recent Tokyo
Game Show. What reaction did you receive from the players?
AA Fortunately, we received a very positive reaction from users
at the show. We'll try our best to consider their comments as
much as possible. For example, the Game Show version ROM did
not have the motion blurred weapon effects and we did receive a
huge amount of requests for them, especially from fans of the
arcade version. It was then that we decided to add the effect
(knowing some technical difficulties lay ahead). Users who
played the ROM at the show commented that the "characters are
larger than those of previous 3D polygon lighting games," that
the "textures of faces and clothing looks far more detailed than
expected," and that the "motion of the characters is almost

mm

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46 SEGA SATJRN MAGAZINE

identical to that of the arc

belter be, as we used the same data!

SSM The demo version was 30%

complete compared to the
arcade game. What
major aspects were missing
that we should be looking
forward to?
AA All the characters are in the ROM
{whereas only four were available
at the show), with an additional five
stages (with all new improved graphics),
and motion blur effects. But adjust-
ments will be made until the very last
moment of the game's development.
We've also staited working on Saturn
original features recently.

SSM Can yon tell us a little about the live
action Last Bronx video displayed at the
Tokyo Game Show?

AA We have recently launched a "Media
Mix" promotional plan for Last Bronx.
The video game is the core product but
there will also be a novel, radio drama,
music/ drama CD, comics, and a live
action Last Bronx video.

SSM What has been achieved in the
weeks since the Tokyo Game Show? An
there any major difficulties still facing you?
AA As we mentioned before, all eight characters are available
now, with all the motion data implemented. We are currently
working with CPU algorithms, which is one key point of the
conversion.

SSM Are you planning to piodnce a CG intro for the Saturn
game? What can we expect to see in the final game?

AA Yes, we will have an opening movie. Fans will definitely love
it of course, but it will be something which can introduce new

players to the world of Last Bronx.

SSM How important is the distinction between a home and
an ai cade game? What other Satnin extras can you
confiim at this time?

AA The target user is the biggest difference. While arcade players
are relatively limited (those who have a knowledge of video games
in general), we need to aim the Saturn version at a much wider
variety of people. This is something which we had in mind from
the very beginning, but we will make the game something which
can be enjoyed not only by hard-core fans but by beginners as well.

SSM What plans are then f 01 introducing any new Last Bronx
fighters 01 new weapons into the Saturn conversion?
AA We do not have any plans to add a new character, as it
might affect the correlations of existing characters.
Meanwhile, we'll put in a hidden "joke weapons" mode which
was very well received in the arcade version (for example,
Zaimoku's sledgehammer will turn into a frozen tuna,
Yusaku's Sansetsukon into model train and Kurosawa's
wooden sword into giant fan)

SSM An then any aspects of the arcade game you weie
perhaps not 100% happy with and are changing foi the
Saturn version?

AA It would be a lie if we said we were 100% happy with the
arcade version. However, we are still considering any changes
from the existing game.

SSM What aspect of the Satnrn conversion an you most happy
with at the moment?

AA For Saturn fighting games, it's always been a choice between
"resolution" or "real 3D backgrounds." However, for this title, we
have achieved both.

SSM Finally, what message do yon have for the many European
Last Bronx fans?

AA Of course, this will be a faithful conversion from the arcade,
but we are planning to add many original features for the
Saturn version. Our aim is to create a game, not just for hard-
core gamers but for Saturn owners. We'll never let you down!

Last Bronx offers hardcore
fighting action that even the
mighty VF2 will be hard-
pressed to match!

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 47

SHOWCASE

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SHOWCASE 1

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sentation style activities then.

SEGA RALLY FOR REAL!

lust how close aie the Sega lacing games to the real thing? Can today's cutting edge 3D technology and
advanced gameplay really replicate the high-speed thrills and spills of haidcote motoispoit? RICH LEAD-
BETTER takes the co-dxivei seat in a real-life Toyota Celica GT4... let's go buxn some lubber!

.FEATURED

around themnuuUin, often right i"
■■■huerdrori whkh • In J wonders for

AND WE'RE OFF!

The rally official's digits were literally a foot in front of me
as he counted us down. Three. Two. One.

And suddenly we're accelerating. Were REALLY
accelerating. Right up to somph and the car's barely
breaking a sweat. Oddly enough were still accelerating
madly as we powerslide into the first corner. Bruce
expertly handling the steering, counter-steering us back
on course. This madness continues on every corner - 1
swear that even on the tightest bends we're still manag-
ing 3omph, the rear of the vehicle swinging out around
the corners.

I know I should probably be in fear of my life at this
point, but Bruce Newie is just so damn relaxed, carrying
out an everyday conversation with me over the intercom
that I realise that this suicidal driving is second nature to
him. So I can afford to relax a little lust a little.

OVERJUMP!

The overall impression of the drive is that Sega Rally does
a great job of replicating a real rally drive within its limi-
tations. The oversteer on the car that American journal-
ists in particular have moaned about is exactly as it is in
real life. However, the sheer noise of the engine, the dust
and stones ricocheting off the windscreen, the sound of
tyres desperately trying to stick to the dusty track... that's
kind of missing, as is the fear that you could well be dead
in the next few minutes.

Bruce's fight to keep control of the rear-wheel drive
vehicle is very reminiscent of the sort of thing you have
to put up with when driving the Lancia Stratos in Sega
Rally (the only two-wheel drive vehicle in the game), so I
guess that in terms of driving mechanics, AM3dida
splendid job on Sega Rally.

One thing that is entirely different in real life is how
the jumps (or water troughs) are handled in real life.
We're quite happy to be sent flying
into the air in the game, but
to be honest, when we
approached a jump in the
car. this was just about the
only time that Bruce Newie
applied the brakes. Obviously
the suspension on the real cai
is just a bit more delicate than it is
in the video game!

One particularly amusing story of the day concerned
the driver of a Volvo rally car who not only took the water
trough at high speed, but also took to the air SIDEWAYS
having failed to correct his power-slide in time. Ouch.

EASY RIGHT MAYBE!

So what does the co-driver do in the Rally car? Well typi-
cally he spends his time with his nose buried in the map
giving directions to the driver, warning him of what's
coming up. Just like Sega Rally then eh?

Well. no. For a start a real rally co-driver could never
get away with saying "Easy right maybe" before taking
on a mammoth chicane! On a stage like the one we were
on, anything other than pinpoint accuracy would result
in us flying off the side of the mountain!

Bruce Newie pointed out that the real pro rally dri-
vers - like the guys who take on the RAC - use a kind of
points system rating the severity of a corner on a scale
from one to six. So no crappy "Long medium right"
advice like Sega Rally's co-driver regularly comes up
with. Instead you'd get a single number telling the dri-
ver all he needs to know about how to handle the
upcoming corner in the stage.

HOW CLOSE IS SEGA RALLY?

The dynamics of rally driving have been transferred from
real life to videogame extremely well in Sega Rally
Championship, but I do feel that a lot of the experience is
missing. You can take on the courses in Sega Rally like a
mad-man, basically because your car is indestructible!
Not so in real life, where drivers are ever-aware of how
much punishment they're putting their cars through.
Daytona USA had "battle damage" so why not
Sega Rally (or indeed Sega Touring Car or Manx TT
SuperBike)? Additionally, the stages in Rally, although
great for a videogame, seem to lack the wildness and
the danger of the real thing. That's perhaps the great-
est shortcoming of Sega Rally compared to the real
thing; it's just too safe, a precision exercise in

ig as opposed to the constant impro-
visation I saw going on. As amazing
Sega Rally is, I reckon there's a
huge amount of improvement
AM Annex could do, especial-
ly if they did a sequel based
an Model 3 technology...

SEGA SATURN MftGAZINE 53

IniepvOJw wi|M3 r s Hisao
inno ana discover if (hey re as streei-

FP

Tap: Mr Hisao Oguchi, General
Manager AM R&D Dept #3.
Below: Mr Kenji Kanno,
Planning & Direction Section
AM R&D Dept #3.

Many thanks to Mr Shunsuke
Kato (not pictured), Planning
& Direction Section AM R&D

SSM What inspired you to produce an arcade game that simu-
late* the sport of skateboarding?

AMI Well, as a matter of fact, it's not actually a simulation game.
What we wanted to express in this game were the images of
skateboarding. If Top Skater was a true simulation game you
wouldn't be able to do any of those tricks at all. In real skate-
boarding the movements aren't particularly showy or impres-
sive. What we wanted to do most was to express the cool
images we had about skateboarding. The images we have
might differ from other people but for us, skateboarding has
always been one of coolest things around since we were stu-
dents. We've practised skateboarding and snowboarding. We
wanted to express the images we had, so it's not a simula-
tion game. Of course it contains the taste of skateboarding.
The tricks that the skateboarders use are actually reflected
in the game, but the movements are exaggerated. 1 think
that if the tricks were the same as the actual ones then
they would look much worse than the ones the top skate-
boarders do. So I wanted to put some amazing tricks into
the game that you wouldn't expect, so that the skate-

; appears really cool. I'm not saying that it is a sur-
realistic simulation but more an emphatic
simulation. If the game was a true simula-
tion where you could only enjoy skate-
boarding in just the same way as real skateboarding, it
would be better to go skateboarding for real. The
most exciting thing about Top Skater is that you

enjoy unrealistic tricks. If the game only had the

Triple Flips, Nnse Grabs, Indys,
Hollies, Heelflips and Handfllps.
Top Skater features all these
cool tricks and many n

Just one of the two tricky

to be tackled in AM3's Top Skater.

skateboarding is so difficult that the average person can't do any of the
tricks. We also tried skateboarding but it was more difficult than we
thought so we gave it up. But, if you want to be cool in a game, you
can do it easily with Top Skater. It's great fun being able to quickly do
cool things in a game. I think the game is more accessible because
n skateboard easily and you can do tricks that are even more
difficult than ones in real skateboarding.

SSM Were yon at all influenced by any of the

recent snowboarding games?
AM3 No, we weren't particularly influenced. We studied
them of course. We always study other companies' prod-
ucts. However, a certain "N" company has already made a
ime using snow therefore we chose skateboarding as the
theme of this game. Top Skater is completely different.

SSM How does skateboarding and snowboarding
fashion differ?

M3 Basically they are the same because snowboarding was
invented by the same people who used to go skateboarding.
Fashionwise, we'd say that you need warm clothes for the
snow and light clothes for the street (laughs). Both are com-
parable with each other in terms of cool fashion. That's one
of the reasons why snowboarding is becoming more and more
popular in Japan. Thus Top Skater is enjoyable because it's
cool and fashionable.

SSM What kind of playei did you create Top Skater f oi?

AM3 We like to attract new users by making something new.
1 think the core game players are almost always the same so it's
no use making ordinary games. We have to try something new.
That's the policy of AM 3. What should we do now? We should
attract young people first because the number of young people
playing video games is decreasing. What are they interested in?
Music and fashion. These really catch the attention of young peo-
ple. So to attract them we chose to use skateboarding. We did loca-
tion tests several times and we found that even people who rarely
played video games enjoyed playing Top Skater very much. Of
course, we have to keep the core players as well so we included a
game system that they can also enjoy. We think we can attract
people who are interested in street fashion as new users. There
aren't any complicated rules are there? We'd like the users to
enjoy the game in their own way. Recently, there have been a lot
of complicated games where you have to play such games serious-
ly and in a tense way. Against the background of that we've creat-
ed Top Skater so that it can be enjoyed easily and freely. Some of
the ways to enjoy it are to satisfy yourself by accomplishing vari-

54 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

ous tricks or by showing others how cool you look. Another way is
just to go around the course in your own way. Actually, it's not a
racing game. The goal isn't to race as fast as possible. Of course it's
an arcade game, so there are some conditions attached, but we
think there are various ways to enjoy the game.

SSM Skateboarding seems to be more popular in Europe
and America than in Japan. Would you agree with this
and if so did you create Top Skat et especially f 01 these
markets?

AMI Definitely! We had this plan from the very beginning.
We expect that Top Skater will sell very well in the US. That's
why we included the images of America on purpose.

SSM What about Europe?

AM3 We're not sure because we're not familiar with
Europe. It depends on the country. American and French
cultures won't blend at all. French people won't even speak
English. Even American and British cultures are a little differ-
ent although their roots are the same. Speaking of
European music, punk rock originally came from Germany.
We think that punk rock will appeal to Britain and the
other European countries. We can catch their attention,
not through viewpoints, but by music. We're not really
sure as we've never been to Europe, but the music we
used is a kind of rock music which we call "Melody
Core" in Japan. It comes from rock music and it's a sort
of punk rock. There are a lot of punk rock artists in
Europe, especially in Britain and Germany. Come to
think of it, we're sure punk rock is popular in Europe.

SSM I rarely see people skat eboaiding. How
popular is skateboarding in Japan?

AMI Nowadays, we seldom see skateboarders
either. Most of the people who used to go skate-
boarding are now fascinated with snowboard-

ing. The housing situation in Japan is pretty bad. As you know, Japan
is a small country so there isn't enough space to go skateboarding and
we don't like to bother our neighbours. In America they've got plenty
of space.

SSM Are there any special skateboard parks in Japan?

AM3 There are some, here and there I guess, but not enough.
Therefore, skateboarders are forced to skateboard in the street. I
used to skateboard more than ten years ago. I did it on the
street, especially in Harajuku. Skateboarding was a fad at that
time. Rollerskating was also popular at that time as well.
However, rollerskating has now been replaced by
rollerblading. I can still recall those memories clearly.
Although I'm not so young any more, I'm still young at
heart. The things I used to admire haven't changed.
SSM What sort of research did you do when you
started this project?
AMI When we considered what we needed most to
express the images in Top Skater, we found that the
technology to express the character motion was the
most important. We used the most advanced technolo-
gy possible to express the character's movements
smoothly. At AM 3 we've worked on Last Bronx and
Decathlete before, so we have a lot of know how. In our
team we have somebody who developed some of the
character motion in Last Bronx. He was in charge of
the motion in Top Skater. He did a very good job of
joining the various motions together smoothly Last
Bronx and Decathlete used 2D techniques to repre-
\ sent movement in a flat screen, but this time Top
\ Skater uses 3D techniques. For the first time we
tried to express complicated movements,
smoothly in a 3D environment. For example,
when you do tricks the distances you can
jump differ from situation to situation. We
had to develop new software and design

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 55

Performing cool tricks is it
important than simply finish-
ing the course in record time.

Whoa, check out the shorts on
Keith Frehly! This dude's a
massive Pennywise fan.

techniques accordingly to handle the smoothness of the movements.
We had to develop them all in a different way. When the skater is in
mid-air his position on the horizontal and vertical axis changes several
times. We had a hard time adjusting each movement to match it. We
made a great effort to get that right. We also had difficulty deciding on
the camera angles as well. In fighting games the fighters are usually
depicted from the side. In recent fighting games they are sometimes
shown from above when they win a round. In Top Skater the camera is
always changing its position. For example, when a character leaps off
the track he might be seen from above, behind, in front or from any
side. We needed to make sure that the camera's viewpoint made the
movements of characters look cooi from no matter where the camera
was placed. That took a lot of time. However, even though the camera
keeps moving from place to place it doesn't get in the way. We're
proud that although the camera is often moving it doesn't make Top
Skater difficult to play. We researched that aspect carefully.

SSM Did all the team members practice skateboarding
beforehand?

AMI No, they didn't. Of course, in order to create this game we
should've experienced in advance the actual feelings of skate-
boarding. For example, if you make a rally car racing game you
should ride in a real rally car. However, in the case of skateboard-
ing, none of the team could skateboard. It's really difficult. I prac-
tised skateboarding for only five hours, but I quit in case I got hurt.
If I'd had to go to hospital then the development wouldn't have
been able to continue {laughs). I think it would probably take
nore than a year for us to be able to skateboard well. Instead, we
went to a lot of places and watched professional skateboarders per-
form. We did a lot of research. We watched many videos of skate-
boarding and snowboarding. Some of them we bought while the
others we took ourselves when we went to see skateboarding and
snowboarding competitions. We also talked with professional
skateboarders several times as well.

SSM Was the original intention to produce a straight for-
ward racing game? Did the tricks come later?
AM3 No it wasn't. We kept on discussing which was better, tricks
:acing, right up until the final stage. Some people thought
that racing was better because it's easier for the users to under-
stand. However, from the beginning, I wanted to adopt tricks.
It wouldn't make any sense to make a skateboard racing
game. You don't need to skateboard as fast as you can, I just
wanted to make the game cool and fashionable. If the game were a
racing game you wouldn't want to do any tricks as you'd be absorbed
in trying to race as fast as possible.

TUTU T!H£ 4

0*2<t"SJ

Points are awarded for spectacular jumps, tricks and stunts. The flaming wheels indicate a player's top speed.

56 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

SSM What input did you receive from real life skateboarders
during the development of Top Skater and did it change your
original ideas for the game?

AM3 Not really. We've completed the game with the same image we
originally had. We met up with professional skateboarders when the
game was nearly finished, when we'd finally reached an agreement
on what kind of game it should be Then we asked them what they
thought about the unrealistic tricks, adding that we had included all
the main tricks as well. They were pleased with the idea. They said
that the unrealistic tricks wouldn't ruin the game and that on the
contrary it sounded exciting. They liked it. They said that the realistic
tricks in the game looked just like the real ones. For example, the Kick
Flip or something like that. I think that reflects the considerable
efforts the development team made to get the character motion right.
They even suggested some new tricks they wanted us to include. We
enjoyed discussing it with them. At one time we joined a snowboard
event and offered Top Skater for them to play with. I heard a profes-
sional snowboarder was playing the game for quite a while and
seemed to be pleased with it.

SSM This time yon didn't use any motion capture for Top
Skater. Why was this?

AM) Because some of the tricks in the game are so unreal that there
is nobody who could do them. That's the simple reason why. To do
such showy tricks would require a vast studio and we'd need to use
some kind of trampoline or something. It would be impossible even
for a top skateboarder so we created all the characters' movements
with our own hands.

SSM How did you create such smooth character motion?

AM3 1 think our designers have a good sense for this. We're sure that
they're amongst the best in the industry. I certainly think that AM3 is
the best development group for this kind of game. We made Last
Bronx and Decathlete before, so we've got a lot of know-how. We
have many excellent motion designers who are unique. They really
are talented. Even if there was a skateboarder who was capable of
doing the unrealistic tricks and we were able to use motion capture,
the game still wouldn't be any more exciting than Top Skater is
already.

SSM In Top Skater you can even slide along the railings with
your skateboard. How exactly did you manage that kind of
difficult collision detection?

AM3 We can't tell you that precisely because it's a secret. Handling
this kind of 3D collision detection has never been accomplished
before. We really had a lot of difficulty with this. The CPU is under a
heavy burden of having to calculate all the collision detection algo-
rithms. Actually, it took a lot of time in the early stages to get the
characters moving. We had to focus all our attention on this area.
After all, there are all kinds of terrain along the course, such as banks,
ramps and raised areas, where the users can freely move. So we need-

ALL ARTWORK © SEGA 1997

ed a lot of new and advanced techniques to be able to handle all of
the various kinds of collisions that are possible Both the visual tech-
niques and the collision detection are really new.

SSM Compared to other games, the collision detection in Top
Skater is an essential element isn't it?

AMI That's right. It really feels great when you're skating along the
banks. I'm not criticising other companies, but only we have the tech-
niques to do that (laugh). It was very difficult and it took a lot of time
for the programmers to create the programs that could handle the
collision detection within a 3D environment. After we got that work-
ing it didn't take us much time because all we had to do next was add
the various character movements. The collision detection was the
most time consuming element.

SSM Did you believe from the very beginning that it was pos-
sible to create such a difficult game?

AM3 Of course! Of course! (laugh)

SSM What kind of reference material did you use to create the
tricks?

AMI We referred to videos and magazines. We also had advice from
professional skateboarders. However, for inventing the new tricks we
mainly used our imagination. If we had an interesting idea for a trick
we'd give it a go and see how it turned out. We kept the main core of
basic tricks from beginning to end. After that we tried to develop the
unrealistic tricks. We kept recombining a mixture of different kinds
of tricks. We had to use our imagination because these tricks don't
exist. Like out concept, the word "cool" is the most important idea.
We failed several times trying to make new tricks simply because
they weren't cool at all. By the way, several months ago when we
were developing the game, Michael Jackson came to Japan and saw
Top Skater. He only said one thing, "Cool!"

SSM Which tricks were the most difficult to develop?

AMI Creating the 3D movement for when you jumped of a bank or
ramp and then span around, was the most troublesome. More than
just creating the tricks it was also difficult trying to use our imagina-
tion. Using the real tricks as a reference, we researched how we could
deform their motion to create new tricks. I think the designers really
had to work hard trying to think up the unrealistic tricks. It took the
designers' feelings, courage and sense.

SSM How many tricks does each character have?

AM3 Each character has more than 100 tricks. They all have the same
easy tricks in common. For example, the tricks where the user only

has to kick the rear end of the board However, depending on the
complexity of the board input they can do different types of tricks.
These differ for each character. Users who are good at inputting can
create their character's own tricks.

SSM Apart from the score, what other rewards are there for
performing complex tricks?

AM3 Other than the score you can go faster. If you increase your
speed, you can take advantage of this when you try to do your next
trick. The difficulty of a trick ranges from "S" to "E". The more difficult
the trick you do, the faster your speed gets. In the bottom left comer
of the screen is a spinning wheel. When you travel fast enough,
flames start coming off it.

SSM Is it possible to increase your speed by swaying from left
to right?

AM3 Yes, but only a little bit. Just by looking you can't really tell. If it
was possible to generate an extreme speed, it wouldn't be possible to
maintain the technical balance. You can only get a little higher speed
and you can't tell the difference in speed because the speed changes
little by little. However, you can't keep it up very long because you'll
soon encounter an obstacle or jump ramp.

SSM How did you go about designing the courses?

AMJ The courses in Top Skater have a lot of freedom for the players to
move around. We thought a lot about how we were going to config-
ure the arrangement of the pipe slides, banks and jump ramps etc.
We wanted to create dramatic courses. It feels good to have success-
fully passed thorough an area which required a lot of skill. In particu-
lar, we took a lot of trouble in positioning the ramps and straight sec-
tions of the courses. This is because after you make a jump, you have
to move straight ahead for a while and we were worried about mak-
ing the courses full of straight sections, which would be boring. We
had to do a lot of research and keep adjusting the courses bearing
this in mind. After that, there were also the corners to consider
and then the course line as well. The most difficult thing was to
realise our idea of allowing the player to be able to move around
freely. That was hard to do.

SSM Were the courses based on existing skate parks or
did you create your own ideal courses?

AM3 Not at all. We constructed the courses so that they would be
enjoyable to play. If we had used real courses the game would
have probably been boring. I'm sure we reflected the concept of
fun in the game. Actually, real skateboarders skate in confined
areas. It would cost a fortune to try and build a real course as long
as ours. Maybe if you were an Arabian oil billionaire? It sounds
like a lot of fun though! (laughs)

SSM The line of each course is divided in an upper and
lower route. How exactly axe they different?

AM3 We just wanted the users to be able to enjoy choosing their
own way through the courses. Imagine there's a jump ramp at the
top and oil drums at the bottom. Those who want to be cool and
slalom through the drums, can choose the lower route. Those
who'd like to move straight ahead easily by jumping, can
choose the upper route. There are different ways to enjoy play-
ing. As the hard core gamers are better players, they can choose the
routes which are more favourable for getting a higher score. On the
other hand, those who'd prefer to just move freely and look cool can
take another route instead. As it's not a race, we'd like the users to
enjoy themselves in their own way.

SSM Can you maintain your speed even on the upper route?

AMI It is possible, if you don't fail. As I mentioned before, you can get
a higher speed when you do difficult tricks. Of course there is a limit.
As you get faster it becomes more and more difficult for you to main-
tain your balance. If you fail to do a trick then you'll slow down, but if
you succeed then you'll be able to continue moving quickly even
when jumping from drum to drum. If you go fast enough the fire
wheels appear on-screen.

Okay, so you've completed Ehe
beginner course but have you
got what it takes to tackle the
expert track?

Yo, my man' Tough guy Jake
Smith struts his funky stuff,
sporting the very latest gear
from skate sponsor, Etnies.

Tracks are covered in posters
advertising real skate labels.

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 57

n:m;uu;i

Ash thinks he's the number
one skateboarder in the com-
petition.

SSM What it the difference between the beginner course and

the expert course?

The biggest difference is that the feelings of thrill differ. For
instance, in the beginner course you can move freely and easily. It feels
great after you've made a big jump into a wide open space. However,
the expert course has an underground feel to it and you feel yourself
being cramped in. 1 associate skateboarding with such a space. We
wanted to make the course like that. There are a lot of closely arranged
oil drums and buildings around the expert course. There isn't a
straight and easy route through the course. There are a lot of obstacles
such as railings and cones that you might hit against In the beginner
course it's more open and there are jump ramps and low fences. We'd
like everyone to choose their favourite course.

SSM Are the tricks yon can da on the beginner and expert
course the same ?
AM3 Yes they are.

SSM Was the Model i board fully capable of handling all the
3D algorithm* used in Top Skater?

AM3 Yes, we made full use of it.

SSM Does that mean it wasn't necessary to use Model 3 for
this type of game?

AM) This time we attached the most importance to the idea of fun.

So we preferred to realise this concept rather than simply improv-

9 ing graphical techniques. We have a lot of know-how about Model 2,

so we wanted to create some new enjoyment using the Model 2, not

Model 3. Sega has only just started to make use of the Model 3. AM 3

has also begun to form a Model 3 project. However, we don't yet have

all the algorithms we would need to do a game like Top Skater.

Model 2 is a board we can still use well and which has a loads of soft-

libraries.

SSM With such an active came as skateboarding, didn't you
feel that it would be necessary to give some kind of feedback
through the skateboard interface?

It was possible for us to make the users experience the feeling
that they were really skateboarding, without using feedback through
the skateboard interface. In reality, it would be very difficult to play if
we did use feedback.

SSM Top Skater is very much a single player game. Did
you ever consider the option of multi-player gaming
and linked cabinets?

AMI If you play a game with another user at the same time you'll
always end up trying to beat him and the game ends up as a race. We
had preferred a trick, game to a race game from the very beginning, so
we gave up the idea of a two-player game.

SSM Compared to actual skateboarding how realistic are the
tricks in Top Skater?

AMI Well, those tricks that are based on actual tricks are very real.
When you skateboard for real there's a lot of sliding, especially when
you're turning. With this as a base, when you input the jumps, the
Nollie and Ollie motions are incredibly real as are the real tricks as
well. According to the professional skateboarders we talked to, this
was very realistically simulated.

SSM How difficult was it to balance the realism and playabili-
ty of the game?

AM3 Each member of the development staff actually had a go at trying
to do the tricks. To tell the truth, none of them had ever skateboarded
before. Actually, most of the players haven't either, so bearing in mind
that the game is for the users we developed a game which they can
play easily. We attached more importance to the images than to the
easiness. We maintained a balance between them.

SSM What sort of feedback did you get from the players at the
location tests?

AM) We got a lot of feedback off them. Those people who were inter-
ested in street fashion said they tried it because it was a new style of
game. They enjoyed playing it because it was a different kind of game
from what has been available up to now. They liked the way the
game easily responded to the way they played What we were most
worried about was the feedback from the main players of fighting
games and shooting games. One player who liked fighting games
tried Top Skater just because the characters are designed by the same
person who did the Last Bronx characters. He tried Top Skaterfor the
first time and he liked it very much. With the location tests we were
able to inspire new users. Although of course there were a few people
who had some criticisms, there were a lot of people who were satis-
fied with the game. Nobody really wanted us to make any changes.

SSM So were you worried about whether the game would be
well accepted?

AM) Before the location test we were nervous, of course. Before the
release? Oh, we always feel nervous before a release. We can never
know whether the game will do well until it comes out. But our wor-
ries were removed by the location test. We felt relieved.

SSM Ton must have worked very closely with AM4 in order to
develop the skateboard interface. Could you please tell us a lit-
tle bit about your relation with them on this project?

AM) We usually work with AM4 when creating games. We work
together to make a cabinet that will work well with our software.
Normally, games such as driving games are soon finished. When you
receive the cabinet from AM 4 there's usually only a short exchange,
such as "You should improve only this little bit". However, the process

With aver 100 complex tricks to master, Tap Skater is a real arcade challenge.
58 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

Mr Kenji Kanno and Mr Hisao Oguchi discuss the finer points of Top Skater's gameplay.

: e all the special sound e ff ect s found in

1 I . I ] ■

II -INI I I

to design and create the skateboard interface didn't go so smoothly
that we were able to get it right in one go. When the player stands on
the skateboard it has to be stable and we needed to create a mecha-
nism through which you could enter all the tricks. There was a lot of
discussion between us on these points.

SSM At what point during the development process did you

considei the design of the skateboard?

AM3 We decided on the design of the skateboard about one month
before our first location test. By that time it had already been
redesigned several times. We were very nervous because the schedule
was very tight. All the tricks had been finished and blended together
so it was the first time that it could be played in its complete form. We
really liked the final design.

SSM The game's background music has been performed by LA
grunge band, Pennywise. How did you find out about them?

AM3 1 knew about them long before I decided to use their songs in Top
Skater. I like this kind of music such as hard rock and punk.

SSM Why did you decide to use Pennywise for the tunes?

AMI First of all, a major reason was that the real skateboarding world
has three main concepts; music, fashion and sport. They aren't divisi-
ble. As for the music, well... there are several genres that skateboarders
especially admire. Punk rock is certainly one of them. We were looking
for some exciting and upbeat music which would could use to excite
the players, so first of all we chose the punk rock genre. After that, we
then researched various punk rock artists. We listened to various
artists' songs and compared them with the final visual images of the
game. We found that Pennywise were the most suitable so we then
decided to use their songs. As a matter of fact, Pennywise had been
suggested from the very beginning because they are one of the great-
est grunge bands around They have supplied ten songs for Top Skater
as well as an exclusive original track.

SSM Are Pennywise a popular band in Japan? Did this influ-
ence youx decision to approach the group?

AMI Yes they are and 1 myself am a very big fan of the group.

SSM How did yon a
Top Skater?

AM3 We collected samples of the sound effects by doing things like
throwing a skateboard around and things like that. However, if you
only use sampling for the sound effects, the game sounds noisy.
Recording a running skateboard picks up a lot of background noise. So
we researched trying to mix different samples together to get the best
sound. In the end we partly used real sounds and we partly used artifi-
cial sounds.

SSM As you obviously went to a lot of trouble to get Pennywise
fox the music. How did you ensure that the Top Skater sound
system would do them justice?

AM3 We installed fantastic speakers! It was important that we install
woofers to emphasise the bass so that the players could really feel the
drumbeat. We spent a lot of time discussing where the speakers
should be installed many times. Now the speakers are installed bare,
out in front, and are much better than before. They can reproduce the
great sound both for the players' ears and their bodies.

SSM Did you utilise any other special sound hardware?

AMI Yes, we installed the MPEG board onto the Model 2 board.
Financially, we couldn't install them before, but their use is becoming
more cost effective. This is the first time we've installed speakers with
such a large capacity. I think this will be the trend from now on.

SSM Could you tell us a little about the product sponsors?

AM) We derided to tie-up with some companies who make real shoes.
For example, the Reef shoes are available now. This time we are only
tied-up with the shoes. All the character's clothes have been designed
by us and are original.

SSM How important and difficult was it to arrange this spon-
sorship for Top Skater?

AMI It wasn't that difficult at all. We've tied-up with six companies.
Actually, in a real skateboarding competition, professional skateboard-
ers are also tied-up with companies. We thought it was important to
express this reality. Even though it's not a real competition, we'd like
the users to feel familiar with it. A user might say "Wow, those are Reef
shoes! This competition looks real!" That's why we used the real shoes
in the game,

SSM Which aspect of Top Skater are you most proud of?

AM3 The thing which I'm most satisfied with is that we've created a
space in the arcade where a player, and the people watching him, can
communicate together. "Communication" is the policy of our general
manager. In the location test, there were a lot of people around the
game. They could enjoy watching both the screen and the skateboard.
They could communicate there. That's what we're most proud of.

SSM Do you have any plans to port Top Skater to the Saturn?

AM3 To be honest with you, I have no idea. When we decide to port
software, we have to research the players' feedback beforehand. For
example, after "Virtual On" came out, we got a lot of feedback saving
that they wanted to play it on the Sega Saturn. Then we began to dis-
cuss if it was possible to do it. So we don't know whether we'll make a
Sega Saturn Top Skater until we get the users' feedback.

SSM Do you think that it's possible to play Top Skater on the
Sega Saturn with only a pad?

AM] We worked on this project with a policy "Do it before you think
about it. Nobody can tell the result beforehand." We've been taking a
positive attitude, but we can't say what the possibility is now. No mat-
ter what you try to attempt, the possibility never becomes zero. There
might be a possibility but we'll have to investigate it first.

SSM Do you have a message for all your fans in the UK?

AM) Well, take a shot at it! The game will always respond exactly to
your control. Just try it and experiment with Top Skater in different
ways and I'm sure you'll find your own favourite way of enjoying it.

By using the skateboard
peripheral, players pull off
real life stunts and tricks.

£jo_

As the arcade version of Top
Skater was powered by Sega's
Model 2 board, will this
supreme title appear on
Saturn? AM3 want your feed-
hack now!

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 59

inrpruvil

Breaking away from the deluge of 2D beat 'em ups we usually reserve for this section, Big In Japan this month focuses on Touge King The
Spirits 2, a grammatically incorrect driving game. Already available in Japan, the game focuses more on realism than arcade-like thrills
and could well prove to be a surprise hit. Well hoorah for thatl

KING THE SPIRITS 2

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JONAH LOMU RUGBY

Codemasters have been a little quiet since their Megadrive golden years but now they're back with world's first 32-bit rugby
simulation. Forget American Football, soccer and basketball, the monster of all sports games is ready to tackle the Saturn!

And he's off with the ball.

Here's a nice replay.

■■■^■H hen confronted with 19 stone of pure
I I II muscle, most grown men would have the
| ^ J sense to step out of the way. When that
HLBkfl muscle belongs to the man-mountain
known as Jonah Lomu, you either move or get turned
into mincemeat. With an established reputation as
rugby's rising star, New Zealand born All-Blacks
player Jonah has now turned his sights to the world
of interactive entertainment. By teaming up with
Warwickshire based gaming gurus Codemasters,
Jonah is lending his significant bulk and image to a
sports title that takes team play and excitement to
fever pitch levels.

While there are certainly plenty of superb Saturn
sports games to choose from, no developer has ever
produced a title based on the UK's second most popu-
lar sport. So, while EA may have the football market

vith endless FIFA sequels, Codemasters have
carved out their own substantial sporting niche with
the likes of Brian Lara Cricket and Pete Sampras
Tennis. Of course, Jonah Lomu Rugby represents a
completely unique challenge and, I'm happy to say,
that Codies, and programmers Rage Software, have
pulled off an amazing job yet again.

If you're completely unfamiliar with the world of
scrums, trys and converted goals then worry not.
Jonah Lomu Rugby features one of the most innova-
tive and easy to use game play systems ever utilised
in a sports game. For starters, beginners are eased
into the game via a series of friendly matches, allow-
ing players to select from one of 30 professional
teams and play a single match in one of four stadi-
ums. Further game options now present themselves,
such as variable weather conditions and time limits,

Jonah is lending his significant bulk and image to a sports title

that takes team play and excitement to fever pitch levels.

Jonah's super-uasy-to-pick-up control system a
huge degree of flexibility.

The polygon players allow for some decent level of realism, a
the speed doesn't seem to suffer.

The PlayStation game has received ra
reviews and this Saturn title is just a:

62 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

IllU'iU/J

STATS YER LOT!

Jonah Lomu Rugby boasts plenty of player and
game statistics. Pausing the game provides
access to the main stat menu and from here
players wade through such specific match
information as the number of possessions a
team has obtained as well as territory gained,
lineouts won, penalties conceded and much
more. Other options allow players to select
multiple camera angles and the nifty action
replay option...

Jonah Lomu follows the fad for digitised commentators by having words of wisdom from Bill MeClaren and Bill Beaument.

before the game begins proper. The stop-start nature
of rugby actually works in a player's favour during a
match, allowing trainee Bill Beaumonts to access a
number of on-screen menus which simplify potential-
ly confusing rugby rules. For instance, when both
teams are locked in a scrum, there's often a mad
scramble for the ball. However, thanks to Jonah
Lomu s unique control system, players have the
option to add extra team members to the scrum,
push against the opposing side or simply make a
quick grab for the ball. Of course, as more experience
is gained, players soon find themselves tapping
through these gameplay options at a frightening pace
thereby increasing the speed of matches. The result is
a game with a near perfect learning curve and one
which allows both short decisive matches to be
played as well as lengthy tournaments.

While HudsonSoft may be the king of multi-
player games, Codemasters come a very close second,

e company that pioneered the innovative
MegaDrive J-Cart have ensured that Jonah's team

appeal naturally extends to additional players. With
the aid of a multi-tap, two-on-two matches become
available, enhancing the team spirit of the game.
Although it's not possible to have four players on one
team, these two-on-two sessions do become just as
competitive. On the audio side, Jonah Lomu Rugby's
commentary also plays an essential part in the game
as both Bill MeClaren and Bill Beaumont offer handy
advice to bumbling players but also criticise poor
gameplay. Likewise the game's dramatic weather con-
ditions enhance the atmosphere with gentle,
whistling breezes turning into full on gales and light
rain showers drowning stadiums, turning green turf
to slippery mud.

Rugby isn't exactly mass market (yet) but with
the right marketing push, and the kind of scores that
this superb Saturn sports title is guaranteed to
receive, Jonah Lomu Rugby deserves to be as big a hit
as its nar

It has to be said that after the heinous deba-
cle that was Doom we never thought we'd wel-
come a Rage Software project, but both Jonah
d El's Darklight are looking great.

Two more in-game shots of this great sports sim.

Incredibly playable, thoroughly enjoyable
and a superb 32-bit sports simulation. j
Jonah's done us proud. ]

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SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 63

lU'JUVi

BATTLE STATIONS

Experience all the fun of being in the Navy from the comfort of your own bedroom, fortunately avoiding the jokes about what
those men get up to behind closed portholes.

D attestations, being based loosely around
the battleships board game, doesn't have
much of a plot to it. It's just a good, old
fashioned game, like the ones your parents
used to play in the olden days, back in a time when folk
were simple enough to have their attention held for
hours on end by small pieces of wood and paper.

Ofcoursewenowliveina more modern society,
where children only use wooden toys and paper to help
them ignite buildings, and games these days must be
electronic, colourful, flash and above all, you kill things.
Electronic Arts have noticed this shift away from tradi-

WHEN THE SHIP HITS THE FAN

There's a decent range of ocean-going craft that
can be controlled during the game. Basically
they divide into three categories - small and
manoeuvrable like the Patrol boat, larger missile
launchers such as the subs and Destroyers, and
the big, slow Aircraft Carrier. The humble Patrol
boat can destroy most of the opposition though,
but later missions do need some strategic use of
the larger and more specialised ships.

pitched battle here eh?

tional games, towards the more visually stunning m
media entertainment world, and they've therefore
decided to give us a more exciting, thrilling and dynam-
ic version of the classic Battle Ships board game.

However, upon first playing this Saturn game,
it's not immediately obvious where EA have hidden all
the exciting, thrilling and dynamic elements, because
the only content I could find on the disc, despite
repeated attempts, was a rather dull and tedious
exercise in random button pressing.

The game has a choice between Arcade and
Campaign modes, with the Arcade mode being an
incredibly simplistic one-on-one battle against a com-
puter or human foe, but the chances of being able to
convince an able bodied and mentally sound person to
play this game (except for review purposes of course],
are pretty slim indeed. Playing against the Saturn in
Arcade mode really is just a matter of vaguely waggling
the d-pad and hammering the shoot button. Admiral
Nelson must be turning in his grave.

The campaign mode at least contains a bit more
to hold your interest -steer your selected ship around a
2D map until you find an enemy vessel, and engage it
in battle, hoping to achieves set objective. The result-
ing fight sequence looks fairly decent to be honest,
with some nicely detailed 3D ships battling it out for

The campaign made offers the most thrills in Battle Stations.

Missiles away! And we have a direct hit.

64 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

IliU'JIiVi

Ships thai pass in the night... or the day, it would seem. A bit of flank to flank action shown right here

a few good ideas in there, but shockingly bad presentation and

amazingly simple gameplay should help this to Sink like the Titanic.

oceanic supremacy. The only problem with this section
is the complete lack of reality. Vou can control a mas-
sive Aircraft Carrier for example, and simply holding
down the D-Pad in one direction makes your ship spin
around on the spot. I suppose a totally realistic simula-
tion where it would take 12 hours to come to a halt
would be even less exciting, but this game would defi-
nitely benefit from 3 slight increase in realism.

Another example of the mind-bending qualities
contained within this game is the way that a humble
Patrol boat can move around very quickly, avoiding the
sights ofthe Aircraft Carrier, and just by repeatedly firing
off weapons and going around in circles, the mighty

Battle Stations really is a quite, quite bizarre game.

Aircraft Carrier can be sunk by the tiny Patrol boat I A
touching play on the old David and Goliath tale, and a
great example of the little person struggling against
massive odds to beat the evil system, but it doesn't really
make for an exciting piece of Saturn software.

There are some signs of inspiration hidden in there
though ■ the larger ships can launch helicopters and
fighter 'planes to attack the enemy, but since each con-
frontation is over so quickly, the easiest way to achieve
victory is simply to pound the standard guns and hope
the enemy sinks before you do. Another wasted oppor-
tunity sees you able to captain a submarine, but since
the sub controls in exactly the same way and has the
same features as the normal ships, what's the point?
The vast majority of battles between large ships end up
with the two stuck side-by-side, and just exchanging
fire until one of them is destroyed. Even when ships do
explode, there's hardly the sort of destruction you might
expect - a terrible white block appears around the strick-
en vessel to signify it's about to sink, and the ship is
engulfed in some curious clouds of orange and yellow
blocks, probably similar to how Picasso would make an
abstract artistic representation of 'Fire'.

Of course, the game isn't completely without
merit... but it comes quite close.

$0>

GARY CUTLACK "~

WE'LL TAKE THEM FROM BEHIND, SIR!

Of course, this is supposed to be a strategy
game, so you would expect to see a large
number of iather-boring-but-technicaliy-
essential-screens, which would allow you to
plan your cunning pi ec is ion attack on the
enemy. You decide which ships to engage in
battle, and can move yout fleet to strategic
locations or into battle, via these rather-bor-
ing-but-technically-essential-screenswhich
are pictured here:

IN THE NAVY... LA LA LA LAAAAH!

Unlike the real Navy, the sailors in this game
don't spend all their time drinking, smoking,
fighting the locals, and hanging around in the
showers washing each others backs, instead
they're expected to fight for Queen and Country
in some dangerous campaigns around the world,
and for many of them, alas, the sad yet inevitable
face of death stares these young men in the eye.

More campaign mode activities shown

After the triumphant Soviet Strike it comes
as a grave disappointment to announce that
this is poor. A very shallow (ouch!) ocean-
based title that shou

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 65

4*>\MM1

INDEPENDENCE DAY

Time's up! Nearly a year after Independence Day exploded onto cinema screens around the world, EA finally unleash their big licensed
3D shoot 'em up. So tell us hotshots, are you ready to "whup ET's ass"?

ELECTRONIC ARTS

|SH00T 'EH UP

WARP FACTOR 4

On certain levels, players
gates that lead to special
sites for these secret stag
the Nakhoda Sub Base an
Entering a bonus stage of
chance to collect extra po
heavily guarded alien sh
limited time limit and ho
dodge, players are best at

-

access random warp-
oonus stages. The

s are Cape Canaveral,
d the Antarctic.

ers players the
Arer-ups and destroy a |
eld generator. With 1
rdes of fighters to
vised to get out ASAP.

Believe it or not, this is Paris. Can't you just smell that garlic? They come in piece...

id shoot to hill!

"<skf^

Failure to destroy the alien ship's shield generators results
the invaders unleashing their powerful weapons.

he world of licensed movie games has
always been a shaky one to say the least.

By wooing film companies with big
bucks, and the promise of sticking true
to a creator's celluloid vision, video game developers
usually assume they've bagged a sure fire hit.
However, long lead times and a lack of studio support
often result in software houses releasing half-baked
titles that only bear a passing resemblance to what
audiences remember watching on the big screen.

Such is the case with Fox Interactive 's
Independence Day. The worldwide success of ID4 was
so phenomenal that a movie-to-console conversion
was inevitable. Unfortunately, while the film's big
budget special effects and basic popcorn plot may
have filled cinema seats in the summer of '96, the
Saturn game of the same name is lifeless and unexcit-

ing. For a start, Fox Interactive have taken a number
of liberties with the movie's plot, focusing completely
on the action-based sections of the film. Players take
on the role of a brave fighter pilot accompanying
Captain Steve Hiller (played by Will Smith) and fly a
variety of aircraft against invading alien forces.
Missions are set within 13 forcefield enclosed zones
ranging from the neon-lit streets of Tokyo to the top
secret airbase known as Area 51. The alien's mile-wide
ships have positioned themselves over the planet's
capital cities and are preparing to wipe out humanity
in one final, devastating assault. In order to stop this
extraterrestrial menace once and for all, players need
to knock out a set number of shield generators or
enemy ships before progressing to the next stage.

To add further depth to what could have been a
basic Afterburner-style shoot 'em up, Fox have added

While there's plenty of action and enemies on-screen, a low frame rate

and scruffy texture maps give the game a rather shabby appearance.

Players fly their craft from a number of
the In-cockpil view displaying all-important

Extensive exploration of each level reveals hidden icons, adding secret fighters
and craft to a player's inventory. Can you find the elusive alien fighter?

Game over, pal! Tough later levels pi
challenge even for the best pilots.

66 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

[mm

LET'S SPLIT

The split-screen option offers two hotshot
fighter pilots the opportunity to blast away at
each other in a head-to-head aerial dogfight.
There are four cities to battle over with players
required to locate and destroy the other. A set
number of kills is determined before the game
begins and skillful pilots are those that survive
the high altitude encounter. The head-to-head
mode also enables players to fly any of lD4's
ten fighter craft, usually only available by col-
lecting hidden icons in the main game.

The mouie event of '9B. Independence

a couple of multi -player options in an effort to boost
the game's limited lifespan. Both split-screen and link-
up modes are accessible although the head-to-head
option does suffer from some noticeable slowdown.
Likewise, the link cable approach is a welcome addi-
tion although the argument of whether players can
be bothered to lug their Saturn and a spare TV round
to their mates house may mean this particular option
is one that few players will ever test out.

Each fighter craft comes equipped with the
same standard weaponry, including heat-seeking mis-
siles and chainguns, although zones are littered with
a number of useful power-ups which provide emer-
gency energy boosts as well as other bonuses. The
trick to successfully completing each stage lies in fol-
lowing your ship's on-board radar and taking out
shield generators and targets as swiftly as possible.
Of course these missions are hampered by swarms of
attacking alien fighters and numerous ground based
batteries taking potshots at your aircraft so some
seat-of-the-pants flying is usually required. With the

clock ticking away, players must knock out their tar-
gets before destroying the City Destroyer's primary
weapon.

Now this may sound like ID4 has all the makings
of a top quality title yet these elements consistently
fail to gel. While there's plenty of action and enemies
on-screen, a low frame rate and scruffy texture maps
give the game a rather shabby appearance. Likewise
the repetitiveness of each mission results in players
settling into an unimaginative pattern of shooting
and dodging aliens. But the biggest disappointment
is that Fox Interactive now have a major blot on their
otherwise unstained reputation. Both Alien Trilogy
and Die Hard Trilogy were superb titles but these
were programmed by Probe and as such seem to have
undergone stricter quality control. With ID4, develop-
er Radical Entertainment have obviously had their
hands tied and have produced a decidedly average 3D
shoot em up .

4^

MATT YEO

Yet another average movie licensed game
that offers very little variety, excitement or
challenge. Best avoid

Ah yes, the "handy" missile camera angle. Not
exactly the best view to play ID4 from bol it's
certainly original.

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 67

wimiin

ACTUA SOCCER CLUB EDITION

Yep, you can tell the summer is on the way by the steady stream of soccer titles that are being rolled out, the latest of which is
Gremlin's Actua Soccer Club Edition. But is good enough to beat WWS at its own game?

ootball fans are well catered for on the
Saturn, although if truth be known
there's only one essential purchase
which Is Sega's awesome Worldwide
Soccer '97. How it will fare with the inevitable deluge
of soccer sims likely to arrive in time for the World
Cup next year is anyone's guess. But for the moment
it appears to have the market pretty much sewn up.
However threatening to throw a spanner in the works
is Gremlin's Actua Soccer Club Edition. Although
essentially a rehash of the old Euro '96 game, it
boasts the same level of payability but now with all-
new teams. Could be interesting.

As is the norm with soccer titles these days,
Gremlin have stuffed Actua Soccer Club Edition full of
options to ensure enough gameplay variations to
keep you coming back for more. Three different
modes of play have been included, practice, friendly
and season. Practice is a knock around with only your
team on the field, friendly is a one-off match whereas
the season is a gruelling trip through every match fix-
ture of the season. Naturally with this being the club

The all-important victory taunts have made it into the game.

RETURN OF THE GREMLIN

Despite primarily producing games for the
PlayStation last year, due to the success of their
Saturn conversions Gremlin have seen sense and
are focussing a lot more attention on their
Saturn games. Actua Soccer Club Edition is the
first in a series of games Gremlin have in store
for Saturn owners, among them a much request-
ed footy manager game. Yep, we all know how
popular such titles are on the PC and Amiga, so
Gremlin's Premiere Manager '97 could well turn
out to be one of this year's surprise hits. Due out
time this summer, we'll have 1
the coming months. I promise.

edition, all the European club sides of Euro '96 have
been removed with the real Premiership teams being
put in their place. There's around twenty of them in
total each with the most up to date player listings
allowing you to make the necessary changes to your
squad, casting aside old has beens to make way for
new blood. Then it's time to talk tactics with the
option to alter your team strategy to suit your partic-
ular playing style. Whether it's to get more players up
field to hammer in the goals or adopt a more defen-
sive role with a stronger midfield and defence. The
choice is yours.

Once you've selected your team, it's onto the
game set up where the option is there to enable you
to tinker with the game mechanics. Turn off the off-
side rule, free kicks and bookings, alter the game
length, wind speed and even select the referee, I could
go on, suffice to say there's an adequate list of
options to appeal to football fanatics who like their
game to be as close to the real thing as possible.
Gremlin have even reenlisted the commentating ser-
vices of Match of the Day's Barry Davies to lend his

Although essentially a rehash of Euro '96, Actua Soccer Club Edition

boasts the same level of payability but with the all-new Premiership teams.

'Another goal!" as Barry Davies might say. But probably not. With the season over, the teams are going to be out of date.

68 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

num. j

GGK2?

The range of camera angles is impressive but fairly ineffective.

It is clear that Gremlin have attempted to make the game as close to the real thing,
even reenlisting the commentating services of Barry Davies.

IT TAKES TWO..

vocals to the game, giving it a more authentic feel.

There's also a fairly impressive range of

that have been included from which to

game. From the overhead plan view to the touch lin

camera, the range is quite impressive. It's just a

shame that half of them are largely unplayable due

their awkward positioning.

However whilst this may suffice for anal foot-
ball fanatics hell bent on playing with real teams
and real players, the truth of the matter is that
ASCE plays like a dog. I defy anyone of
sound mind to play WWS '97 for five
minutes and ever want to return to thi
again. The gameplay is so very slow
3nd subdued as opposed to the fast-
paced game it ought to be. Whilst the
controls are fairly tight they're far frorr
user friendly, meaning relatively simpli
manoeuvres are a real chore. Diagonal
crosses are a virtual impossibility, which invari-
ably lead to frustration and frayed tempers all
round. Graphically ASCE fails to exploit the true
potential of the Saturn, looking quite rough in
places and lacking the overall polish and refinement
we associate with Sega's own title. Possibly the
biggest gripe I have with ASCE however, is the fact
that very little has been changed from its Euro '96

Despite the AI in Aetna being of a good standard,
it can never compete with an infinitely variable
and unpredictable human opponent. Two-playei
battles are always more fun than playing against
a CPU opponent, especially when you're able to
play as your favourite teams. Whether you're
continuing the long running Manchester United
vs Newcastle United debate or having a drunken
after-closing-time games session, you can't go
wrong with ASCE.

incarnation. The front end screens, team
and player names have been altered
accordingly but little if anything else to
justify the price point. I just hope that
Actua 2, due out later this year is a significant
improvement, otherwise Gremlin could be heading
down the road of mediocrity with that too.

The bottom line is that Actua Soccer Club Edition is
a mildly playable soccer sim which lacks the speed, paya-
bility and overall polish of Sega's seemingly untouchable
WW5 '97. Your money is best spent elsewhere.

$0>

LEE NUTTER

Don't be fooled by all the Premiership non-
sense. If you're after a top soccer sim you
could do a lot better than ASCE, by getting
Worldwide Soccer... or waiting for
Worldwide '98 which
Premiership teams.

Pagan dancing is rife on the pitch with much slapping of thighs. In the year 2020, footballers are identical clones of each other.

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 69

\\il\i l

THE CROW: CITY OF ANGELS

It's an unlikely name for an unlikely hero: the Crow. And, judging by the quality of Acclaim's latest release, we think that maybe some-
thing along the lines of "The Dodo" may be slightly more appropriate.

Even fans o( The Crow movie will be hard pushed to find any-
thing appealing in Acclaim's latest effort.

CAPTURE THE MOMENT

Acclaim's much vaunted motion capture sys-
tem has, up until now, been a source of much
amusement in the office (bearing in mind the
quality of the software it has appealed in)
and I'm afraid to say the Crow doesn't reme-
dy that. The process of motion capturing
itself involves attaching little lights to some-
one and then filming them performing all
sorts of degrading acts. However, it appears
as if someone forgot to attach the lights to
the leg area, as even simple movements like
walking look ridiculous.

f a movie is branded as having cult sta-
tus, it invariably means that it's crap that
nobody in their right mind would pay
out good money to see. The Crow was
the exception. It quickly achieved cult status {hope
there's no printing errors there} with the fatality of its
main star Brandon Lee. The sequel however suffered
no documented fatalities on set and as result
flopped at the box office. However, by way of
clawing back some of the lost millions
comes the movie tie-in game, The Crow:
City of Angels. But it doesn't end there,
as production is about to start on the
third thrilling instalment of the series,
the appropriately named Crow 3. 1 can
hardly contain my excitement...

As with many of Acclaim's releases
of late, The Crow: City of Angels is a beat
'em up. But not the usual 2D side-scrolling
mockery of 3 game that has become synonymous with
Acclaim, but a 3D beat 'em up similar in essence to
Sega's own Die Hard Arcade. In that respect at least,
The Crow is an improvement on Acclaim's recent titles.
However, though it is clear that programmers Gray
Matter attempted to make their game different from
most best 'em ups, I'm afraid it will remain confined to
the realms of mediocrity. Here's why.

Obviously to create a videogame of The Crow, the

programmers have had to alter the
basic premise of the Crow, that being
that he's invincible. For the purpose of
ne videogame he's been limited to three
s and appears to have picked up a mar-
art along the way, meaning that essentially

iii >

n't the Crc

layir

j the

eyoua

ethe

guise of the main character Ashe, whereby your task is
to explore the dimly lit 3D environments dispensing
punishment to the unrighteous. This allows Ashe to
rest his soul in eternal peace or something to that
effect. A bit grim but then the film wasn't exactly all
smiles either. Using a range of punches, kicks and
improvised weapons such as bottles and snooker cues,
your motion captured character engages in combat

far from being a one-on-one beat 'em up, The Crow has the player

doing battle with multiple enemies simultaneously.

e lack of shadows gives you the impression that the characters are hovering. Two down, a couple of hundred to go.

70 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

icmmv

babble of a walk is evidence of Acclaim's much
vaunted motion capture system... snigger.

with the enemy. Far from being a one-on-one beat 'er>
up though, the game has you doing battle with multi
pie enemies simultaneously makingyourtask a tad
more difficult. Up to three of the deviant skum attack
you at the same time often cornering you before pro-
ceeding to smash your face in.

The graphics of The Crow: City of Angels are far
more attractive than Acclaim's recent deluge of games,
but still has a somewhat tatty
overall appearance. The back-
grounds are all pre-rendered
with the 3D polygon characters
overlaid. However as most of thi
graphics are streamed off the CD it makes for
some irritating loading times
era switches position. The camera positions them
selves are designed to give the game a cinematic
feel to it like that of the actual movie, but fails
miserably being positioned in the most awkward of
places. Despite the dramatic and colourfully lit room?
shadows are curiously absent from the game giving
impression that the characters are somehow hoverin
above the ground. Likewise there is nolight-sourcing
the characters, meaning even if they enter a brightly

coloured room, the characters remain the same colour.

Obviously this wouldn't matter so much if the
game was fun to play but fun isn't a word associated
with The Crow. Playing the game is a real chore due to
sluggish and unresponsive controls with you exerting
minimal control over your character. The fight scenes
are all very similar, boring and largely repetitive. The col-
detection is frankly terrible appear-
ing to work on a random
bases with punches and kicks
often passing straight through
an enemy fighter. A special mention
uld also goto the "alternative
soundtrack" which consists of the same guitar
riff repeated over and over again for the entirety of
the level. Nine Inch Nails it ain't

As such The Crow: City of Angels is a dis-
appointing piece of software which bears little
resemblance to the Crow films or a decent game
for that matter. Don't be taken in by all the pre-ren-
dered graphics and claims of an alternative sound-
track, as it will invariably lead to disappointment.

£r

CERTIFICATE: 15

Warning! The Ciow: City of Angels may contain
some scenes of sex and violence and/or sexual-
ly explitive swear words. Well, just the violence
actually. As is the case in real life, being repeat-
edly slashed with a naked blade results in
much blood being spilt. Hence the 15 certificate
the game has been awarded, as the censors
insist on shielding young innocents from the
harsh realities of life.

LEE

IUTTER

Not a bad effort of a game by Acclaim's
usual standards but certainly not a wise
purchase. Best avoided.

Pre-rendered graphics maketh not a good game.

The opening scenario lakes place at the Last Chance saloon.

SEGASATURN MAGAZINE 71

SEGA SATURN" tips

Hey, hey, hey... it's tips time again! Boy, have we got some corkers this month, including the full moves list for Sega's Die Hard Arcade.
Also make sure you check out part one of our awesome guide to the RPG game of the year, Shining the Holy Ark. Next month we'll be
printing some amazing Fighters MegaMix cheats, so if you have any, send them in and you could win a mystery Sega Saturn prize. Send
your tips to: Sega Saturn Tips Section, 37-39 Mill Harbour, Isle Of Dogs, London E14 9TZ

BUG TOO!

CHEAT CODES

These codes must be entered

when the game is paused:

North, 5outh, East, West ■ Up,

Down, Left, Right

LAZY WEASEL - This is the level

select code

LAWLE5S - Makes BUG fly around

his insect infested world

REAL EASY - Makes BUG

invulnerable

DIE HARD TRILOGY

DRIVE THE BABY PRAM

Tired of fast cars? Well this is the tip for you.

Follow the guidelines and you'll soon find the ! _._

slowest vehicle on the planet. To drive the "Saby

PRAM" you must make it 68% of the way through after following, but your
"Die Hard With A Vengeance", on the level that arrow in the direction the
features the "Rain" effects. As soon as you're able you'll find a parking lot w
to "Drive", turn around (do a 360) and a cop car bonus (you will need it by
should go speeding past. Follow it. You'll lose sight and the "Saby Pram" in th
of him after he makes a left turn a few seconds what you normally do wh

idicator will show a blue
cop went. Follow it and
than extra life, a time
the time you get here)
e parking lot. Just do
:nyou change "Vehicles".

SHINING THE HOLY ARK

EXPERIENCE BUILDING TIP

Here's how to keep encountering the 3333 experi-
ence granting creature in the tower to the east of
the Capital of Enrich. From the entrance of the
tower, head north, then turn right. You should then
be able to see three paths in front of you (one to the
left, another to the right and in front of you there'll
be a door). Keep running from the left path to the
right path and back again and you should ALWAYS
be able to fight the 3333 experience critter.
The same creature also pops up regularly in the East
Shrine, and at this point in the game the extra levels
you can gain are VITALI

THE CROW

PASSWORDS

Everyone thinks this game is rubbish, but not me.
No, I love it. So much so that I managed to track
down some nifty passcodes for it. Enter these
codes to proceed further into the game:
i:AAAAXYBBAA- The Pier
31 YXYXABYYXA - The Ship

INDEPENDENCE DAY

FAST RELOAD, DAMAGE BONUS AND
UNLIMITED WEAPONS

Using this little cheat, you'll be able to kick the alien
scum off the planet in no time at all. Go to the options
mode and enter the player name "GO POSTAL" Then
exit to the game select screen and quickly enter: Left,
Right, Up, Down, X, Z, Y, This will take you to a hidden
cheat menu, and from here you'll be able to switch
the FAST RELOAD, DAMAGE BONUS, and WEAPONS
modes on.

Fast Reload lets you fire missiles rapidly. Damage
Bonus lets you destroy aliens, generators, and vehicles
in one shot. Weapons gives you unlimited firepower.

SELECT PLANE

Go to the options mode and enter the player name
"MR HAPPY." Then exit to the game select screen and
quickly enter: Left, Right, Up, Down. X, Z, Y. You will go
to a cheat menu, and you'll be able to select any
plane. By the way, If you're playing ID4 you've obvious-
ly not bothered to read our scathing review this issue.
Shame on you!

72 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

eeew

DOOM

Stuck on Doom, eh? Well he 1

codes for you to try.

Doom Levels 9-20

9: FWCI2FRYJK

10: FB891DODKJ

H-HIJ35QNKDB

12:HH06RTMGCF

13;N55ZBB3LSQ

14; ML3199O1O5

15: !TJ8LC 5 ! 5 3

i6:W9KCOLY764

17: PZ86P5MBCF

i8:42Sl344BW

19: XOHFY12Y46

20; KNYOCQKSTR

SATURN BOMBERMAN

Here are some ace codes for this explosive game.

NORMAL GAME

Stage select with maximum power items
(Maximum fire and number of bombs, remote
control, kick and line bombs)

On the "Press start button" screen, enter;

(1st Stage)

L ■(■ R + upper left + A at the same time

(2nd Stage)

L + R 4 upper left t B at the same time

(3rd Stage)

L + R + upper right + C at the same time

(4th Stage)

L + R + upper right + X at the same time

( 5 th Stage)

L + R ■>■ upper + Y at the same time

START WITH SIX BOMBERMEN
In case the player start the norm;
11:00 am, he can use six Bomberr
three)

e at 10-
isually

BATTLE CAME

Hidden characters (YUNA & MANTO) and com-
puter level 4 (the level is usually set from 1 to 3).
On the "Match play" select screen, press and hold
L + R at the same time for one second to gain
YUNA, with her speed multiplied four times.
MANTO has the power globe.
This code is different on the Japanese version,
but the above should work just fine on the UK
edition of this fine game.

DIE HARD ARCADE

Tired of hearing the same old boring music? Enter
this code for a Remixed Soundtrack. On the title
screen, press and hold X + Y + Z and press Start to
choose Die Hard arcade. As if that wasn't enough,
here's the complete moves list for Sega's awe-
some 3D beat-'em-up... enjoy!

BASIC MOVES

Punch: P

Kick: K

Jump: J

Low Punch: Down + P

Low Kick: Down + P

Run: Tap and Hold (Right or Left)

Grab: Touch any enemy

Uppercut: Hold Left or Right, P, P, P

Foot Sweep: Hold Left or Eight, P, P, K

Turning Back-fist: P, Hold Left or Right

Turning Sidekick: K, Hold Left or Right

JUMPING ATTACKS

Shoulder Slam: J, Down + P

Knee Slam: J, Down + <

Double Jump Back Kick: Hold Left or Right, K

SpinningAttack:J + P + K

Double Hammerfist: J. hold P

JumpKick:J + K

Drill Kick/Flip Kick; J, Hold K

THROWS

Pile Driver: K,K, P. P, K
Arm Throw: K. K. P. P, P
Monkey Throw: J, K
Frankensteinen J, P

SPECIAL MOVES
Vertical Back Kick; P. P. P. K
Jump Back Spin Kick: P, P, P, P, K
Stun Palm: Hold P, Release
Backflip Kick: Hold K. Release

Leap Kick: Run + K

Tackle: Run + P

Dragon Uppercut: P + J

Dashing Elbow: P + J, Right or Left

WITH WEAPONS

Handgun or Machine Oun Fire: P

Crouch and Fire: Down + P

Kick: K

Fire Diagonally Down: J, P

Turn and Shoot: Face opposite direction + P

Dragon Gun Uppercut: P + J

Handcuff Arrest with gun: Grab, P, P

Hog-tie Arrest with gun: Crab, K, K

Double Kick Head Smash withMachine Gun: K, K, P

Double Sweep Uppercut with Machine Gun:

Hold Down, K, K, P

MOVES WITH BROOM, PIPE AND ROBOT LEG

Triple Spin High: P,P,P

Down-up Crosswise: K, K, K

Low Sweep: Down +■ K

Pole Vault: Run + K

Joust Attack: Run + P

Dragon Pole Upper: P + J

Jump Forward Sweep: Double Tap Left or Right, K

MOVES WITH AXE, KNIFE, BOTTLE AND MISSILE
LAUNCHER

Jab/Fire: P

Slash/Kick: K

Triple Poke: P, P. P

Low Triple Slash: K.K.K

Low Slice: Down + K

Super Drop: J, Down + P

Dragon Axe Upper: P + J

Turnaround Swing: Face opposite direction. P or K

Anti-Tank Rifle Fire; PDownward Swing; K

Turnaround Swing: Face opposite direction, P or K

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 73

^nrni

PANEMONIUM

CODES GALORE

No sooner than the game is released. SEGA SATURN
MAGAZINE brings you the complete code list for this
stunning 3D platformer. What a swell bunch we ate.

Extra health

Enter CORONARY at the password screen. Extra

hearts are added to your character's health bar.

Extra lives

Enter VITAMINS at the password screen. Players' lives
are now boosted to a whopping 31.

Immortal enemies

If you want a real challenge, enter EVILDEAD at the
password screen. Now all enemies become invulner-
able.

Permanent firepower

Enter OTTOFIRE at the password screen. Players now
retain the last weapon they collected even if hit by an
enemy creature.

Invincibility

Enter HARDBODY at the password screen. Fargus and

Nikki are now completely indestructible.

Select any level

Enter ALMABHOL at the password screen. It's now
possible for players to choose any stage with 31 lives
and 7 hearts.

Bonus Screen

Enter CASHDASH at the password screen. After every

level you'll now play the bonus race.

Pinball game

Enter TOMMYBOY at the password screen. Complete
a stage and you'll play the pinball game.

Rotate the screen

Enter TWISTEYE at the password screen. Hold the L

and R buttons and hit left or right to rotate the

screen. Hit down to reset the

camera.

Quit to the level select

Enter INANDOUT at the password screen. Quitting
the game brings you back to the level select screen
instead of the title screen.

Switch characters during the game

Enter BODYSWAP then hit I during the game to
change between the two characters.

HEXEN

WALK THROUGH WALLS

This code even makes Casper the ghost scream. On

the options screen enter; Up, Down, Left, Right, Y, Y, Z,

\, X, Up, Down, C, B. This cheat then removes all
solid barriers allowing players to travel anywhere.

EXTRA CARS AND WIRE FRAME

Getting bored of the same old cars? Well, these
cheats will soon brighten things up.

Phat Car Mode

Enter PHATCARS on the registry screen to get phat-

Even more secret cars

In the Career mode, enter the n;

receive seven secret stock cars.

eCOBEARSIto

Press Start Car

Enter PRESSSTART on the registration screen to get

the Press Start car.

Wire frame Mode

Enter WYRED on the registry screen to enter a cool
wire-frame mode

Secret Cars

Enter the name"GOBRUINS!" in the Begin Career

option to unveil a further six new cars.

Okay, so Andretti Racing isn't exactly in the same Glass as
the likes of Sega Rally and Daytona JSA but it's still a
nifty little racer. If you bought the game and thought
you'd seen everything it had to offer, then try those tips.

74 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

\um

GRID RUNNER

We've had quite a few request for this gat
here's a few tips to help you through Virgj
futuristic Sports title.

Credit Heads

At the Restore Came screen, enter the password;
A. V. A, Right, Down, Y. Up, Right, Right. A.

Get All Flags

At the Restore Game screen, enter the password:
Down, V, Right, A, Right, Up, Right, B, A, Down.

Free For All

At the Restore Game screen, enter the password;
Up, Y, A, Right, Up, Y, B, Down, Right, Down.

V >

BUCK DAWN

LEVEL SELECT

Finding EA's chopper challenge a little too tough?
At the "Press Start" screen, press and hold C, press
and hold B, press and hold A, press and hold Up,
press and hold L. Then release A, then C, then L,
then Up. You'll hear the phrase "Blackhole
engaged." During the game, press and hold A, C,
Up, Ltoskiptothe next level.

FIGHTERS MEG AMIX

FEATURE LIST

We've been hounding Sega for ages for these codes,
and finally they've arrived. Welcome to a large part
of the Fighters MegaMix feature list.

Hidden Courses

After finishing courses A through D, courses E, F, G
appear, finish these courses and course H appears.
Complete this course and course I appears.

Hidden Character Appearance Conditions

Finish A course: Candy in new costumes
(as 3P.4P colour)

Finish B course: Akira/Sarah from VF Kids)
Finish C course: Ura Bahn (Dark Bahn)
Finish D course: Janet (from Virtua Cop 2)

2P No Damage On/Off: Player 2 becomes invincible.
Finish all courses
and play more than 500 rounds.
Hyper Mode On/Off: All the moves are be per-
formed without "stiffening". Play more than 100
rounds. Training Enemy: Player now choose the
training mode opponent. Finish all courses and put
more than 600 "OK" marks in the training mode.
Survival stage: Survival mode stage now selectable.
Finish all courses, and play survival mode more than
10 times. Portrait; Review Ending sequence graphics
of completed courses.
Book Keep: Game statistics.

Baek/Bean (f

RentaHero (fi
oldMegaDriveRPG)

Finish G course: Deku (Training mode opponent)
Finish H course; Shiba (VFi prototype character)
Finish I course: Hornet (from Daytona)
Start the game 29 times: Meat (Kumachan's 3P
colour)

Play the game for 84 hours: Palm Tree (Kumachan's
4 P colour)

Make Training Mode Opponent "Deku"

Finish A through D courses and put more than 50

"OK" marks in the training mode.

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 75

PLAYERS GUID

-l~l_

Welcome indeed to the first ™ instalment of our Shining the
Holy Ark players guide, put together by a certain RICH
LEADBETTER. Here you'll find full maps to every section game,
along with solutions to all of the tough puzzles! We kind of feel
that we let you guys down over Shining Wisdom tips coverage,
so this is our chance to get some Shining credibility back! Let
the adventure begin!

ggssu

SOME BASIC INFORMATION

■WiWtlllliH4»l

Basso Rodi

ff 83 HP SI

50 poinds of in»-agef

THE FAIRIES

j Eagle-eyed Shining players may notice that Rodi's in a different
class and you get a new set of threads!

h^Timilfm

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!

DESIRE MINE

Blocked off passageway.

u

— — i

1 1 — F_% txit (o Desire Mine R1

collected later in game

N w

i

Of

Herb

-*-?

EJj

c nSSI

Mas

wounds you all. I«,

escapes. ¥ou. Melody and Rodi

—

I and agrees to meet you in the forest. Agree with
everything he says and then next morning leave t>

fllMrtilli»4#>l

DM t-fMrt

HE

Kg

* /

! Rays is pretty
gicor herbs to keep yi

mm^M

80 SEGI SATURN HKMHE

ENRICH DUNGEONS

m*

IJlVMifcltfllMi^

Enrich, meaning you can stock up on herbs

^^ very useful as you explore the dungeons
When you're low on magic and hit point
simply return to him and he guards ove

you as you rest.
' Follow his advice to get the best po
* sible armour and weapons from the

Dungeon B2 and find the crests in this order: first of al
get the Snake Crest (found on the pier to the east) ant
match this with the triangle symbol. Next up, get the
Goat Crest from the north and match tr "

ronted with a huge skeleton. Luckily, he's com
:, he's helpful - the only boss in
tack you! The Gold Key is yours r

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 81

^hjiifyj";, i/Jyijui/Jlx

After months of waiting, the incredible Fighters MegaMix is finally on the market and
SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE celebrates the fact with the first part (of two) of an enormous
combo guide, centred on our favourite characters in the game. All of these combos
^ work in Fighting Vipers mode, although variations of them may also function in
Virtua Fighter mode. So any way, without further ado, let's get on with it!

^*-

*&*-+■

.-ir-^HJ

: 'fk^

JANET MARSHALL

&k. I

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LAYERS GUIDE

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LAYERS GUIDE

Finish any of these with the OK.

X

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s\

PLAYERS GUID

P«a»— 3

6

SHUN Dl

Although he was ■' fairly enjoyable

^w

LAYERS GUIDE

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PLAYERS GUIDE

HEXEN GUIDE iSS l

It's that time of the issue again folks, as SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE unveils the second part of its awesome Hexen guide. This month,
STEPHEN FUff JAMES explores the third episode of GT's massive mediaeval monster mash and discovers that his humble HSS sweatshirt
is no protection against the forces of darkness! We'll be finishing off next month with the final two episodes. Don't miss it!

EPISODE 3

SILENT REFECTORY

FIRST SAPPHIRE PLANET

o down the north east corridor in the Seminary. At ; Co to where the exit portal is and climb up the stai

wsMMnm m

PiffllflliiTTfriPW

: marked with a symbol, lump <
yuui right, and go inside the dark a-
this area lowers the pile of bones rr

senting one of the planets. Five spots for the oth
ceptthat '
ig those planets are missing. Vour
_ missing planets and fit them on t!
jzzle involves a whopping nine sub

.After you find and solve all nine puzzles,

M mW

! Refectory, turn right j ■

jp onto the box in front of ; brace yourself, and p

PUZZLE OF THE PLANETS

start of the level and enter the j inside, tht

" lights are turned out as you ] and stai"

in and a small earthquake is i tomoft

: boxes hiding the switch, : tf
;red. The portal at the bot- j rig

\ end of the room. Pull this switch and a
j behind the portal opens. One of the Err
" il_ ; shelf inside this area.

p

;ch that opens a door in the di

COIEQOPERATED

I Unveiled at the February AOU Amusement Expo in Japan, Sega's two player shoot 'em up is even better than Virtua Cop
2! Programmed by AM1, The House of the Dead is the finest light gun game SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE has ever seen.

| ecently making its debut in the UK,
| The House of the Dead has stunned
d amazed those that have played
it. While the game combines ele-
I mentsfiom the Virtua Cop series,
and even swipes the horror motif from Capcom's
Resident Evil, players have been amazed that AMi
have produced such a top title using the Model z
board. When Sega first announced that they would
be releasing a new coin-op light gun game, most
players were expecting maybe a Model 3 powered
Virtua Cop 3. However, neither AM2 01 the expen-
sive Model 3 board have been employed for this
arcade blaster. Instead AMi (previously known for
the likes of Indy 500 and Die Hard Arcade) have
been handed the development reins and successful
ly pushed the Model a's potential to the limit.
The horror genre has been undergoing
something of a renaissance just lately, with
the likes of Wes Craven's Scream, The Relic
and even Anaconda proving that

;s still love being scared witless. Of
n the world of video games, Capcom

have had phenomenal success with the PlayStation
version of Resident Evil and Saturn owners can
expect to play an "enhanced" version of the game
later this year. Capitalising on this current horror
resurgence, Sega have produced an arcade shoot 'em
up that's guaranteed to send shivers up your spinel
In keeping with the low budget feel of such
classic fright films as Night of the Living Dead,
Evil Dead 1 and the Friday the 13th series, AMi
have created an involving storyline for players to
uncover. As the game begins, complete with an
arty "Seven" style title sequence, the chilling
plot is revealed...

ment officials sent

agents to

Corp's scientific director, Dr Curien,

whose behaviour they suspected. * \ v *

However, the agents never returned. Their

last message was only that Dr Curien was in the

final stage of some secret plan and that his research

was highly dangerous.

The date is now December 20th 1998 and the
setting is a large gothic mansion (DBR Corp's scientif-
ic centre). As a last resort, the government have decid-
ed to send in two of their top agents, "Tom Rogan"
and the mysterious "G". Tom is engaged to marry
Sophie Richards, a scientist working at DBR Corp and
has already met Dr. Curien on past occasions.

What is the cause of the most gruesome case
this century? What are the evil schemes of Dr Curien?
Only you can discover the whereabouts of the miss-
ing scientists, find your missing fiancee. Sophie, and

Above: Stage 3 bass. Chariot, attacks players with a lethal bat-
tle axe. Shoot its unprotected chest plate For a swift victory.
Right: Forget Capcom's Resident Evil, AMI have cranked up the
gore in The House of the Dead to unprecedented levels!

92 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

ARTWORK ■ SFGA -;><!"

'B233-35§;iBai>S

Monsters, mystery, maidens and mayhem. The House of the
Dead has 'em all! Players take on the roles of government
agents, Tom Slogan and G, sent to investigate strange happen-
ings at a gothic mansion. A zombie blastfest awaits...

Whoops! Failure to rescue scientists severely reduces a player's
Life Bonus score. However, save the wandering lab coats and
you're rewarded with level maps, health boosts and extra
weapons such as the shotgun.

THE ROAD
TO HELL

In previous
shoot 'em ups
players have

plotting a path through a game's many
levels. The House of the Dead changes all that
by allowing Rowgun and G to select their t
routes through the zombie infested mansion. When
a scientist or innocent civilian is rescued, a level map
s sometimes collected, with hidden or alternative
routes marked out. As players reach certain points in
the game, they're free to choose which path they'll
take. However, these extra routes are only accessed if
you know the correct manner in which to select
them. For instance, in Stage 3: Truth, the agents c
fully make their way through a deserted chemical
factory until they reach an elevator. If players fail to
shoot the right-hand switch to open the lift doors,

Eat pistol, pail Chain 5 aw slashing zombies are just one of the
devious creatures lurking within the mansion's many roams.
Shoot monsters and objects to find hidden routes.

AP-'.VOq*; : SEGA 1997

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 93

S3QE-E32SBBSB

they'll avoid using the alternative secret passageway.
These additional routes are well worth discovering as
they're usually packed with handy power-ups, extra
lives and monsters galore and also have the added
bonus of extending the game's longevity - something
that few coin-ops manage to accomplish. So even if
players do manage to complete The House of the
Dead, a feat that will still require superb marksman-
ship and plenty of continues, the game never plays
the same way twice.

MASTER OF MONSTERS

Although there's no denying that AM2's classic
Virtua Cop games are easily the best arcade shoot
'em ups available, both titles do suffer from being
somewhat squeaky clean. Shoot a criminal in the
head, leg or any other part of his anatomy and
they'll simply flicker, disappear and players are
rewarded with a cozy little score. The House of the
Dead, on the other hand, doesn't pull any punches
in the violence department. In fact AMi have creat-
ed one of the bloodiest coin-ops we've ever played!
For a start, each ghastly creature in the game has
its own trademark attack that inflicts varying
degrees of damage on players who are slow to
respond to undead attacks. Fail to shoot a zombie
time and they claw the screen, leaving slimy green
finger marks and sapping precious energy.
Likewise, chainsaw wielding monsters hack away
at unsuspecting agents, bats swoop in to bite and
explosions shake the entire screen. What's especial
ly impressive is the fact that the forces of darkness
are constantly on the move as zombies
inhabit every room, unexpectedly bursting
out of cabinets, experimental glass tanks
and from behind seemingly locked
doors at the most unlikely
moments. Of course, playei
hardly defenceless and a
few quick shots are usu-
ally more than enough
to blow away any lum-
bering monstrosity.

Blasting away at zombies results in gallons of
green goo gushing from open wounds and disin-
tegrated flesh flying off in huge chunks.
However, progression through thi

results in agents not only blasting
creatures to pieces, they also
encounter some of the most incredibly
detailed and well-animated bosses to
arcade cabinet!

94 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

BEHOLD... MY CREATION LIVES!

If you've managed to complete The House of the
Dead, then you'll know that all of the g
monster guardians are superb. While even the
earlier stages boast such frightening end-of-level
bosses as the battle axe-wielding armoured zom-
bie known as Chariot and a giant spider, the final
stages are simple incredible. It's these encounters
that highlight just how far AMi are pushing the
Model 2 technology. For instance, take the mutat-
ed spider boss of Stage 3, Hermit. Players first
encounter this nightmare arachnid at the start of
the third level as they begin their pursuit of the
elusive Dr Curian. The battle is short and sweet
with the spider's head being its obvious weak
point. However, make it through to the end of the
stage in one piece and Rowgun and G face the
six-legged fiend once again. This time though,
Hermit proves to be a far more formidable foe
and attacks players when they enter a pipe-like
passageway. Aiming for the head takes off some
energy but Hermit now dodges player's fire and
fights back using multiple leg attacks and begins

ARTWORK 9 SEGA 1997

loMiligolrNFUrlChg

spewing out a lethal silken thread. Fast reloading
and accuracy are required if would-be agents
wish to reach the game's next stage.

SHOCK, SHOCK, HORROR, HORROR

Although The House of the Dead has only
appeared in limited UK arcades in the past few
months, players are already curious to know
whether AMi have any plans to convert this
gruesome shoot 'em up to the Saturn. As usual,
Sega are staying tight-lipped regarding any
possible arcade-to-console conversions but con
sidering that Virtua Cop 2, Virtua Fighter 2 and
Virtual On were all Model 2 game?, it's possible
that we may see a home version of this game
sometime next year. The only real stumbling
block would be how the Saturn would cope with
The House of the Dead's incredibly detailed tex-
ture maps and multiple on-screen polygon ene-
mies. Always in search of the truth, SEGA SAT-
URN MAGAZINE will be continuing its indepth
coverage of The House of the Dead next month as
we present an exclusive interview with the
game's creators, AMi! Look out for that amazingly
informative piece next issue and make sure you
check out The House of the Dead at an arcade

Below: The game's final mysterious boss. Who is he and what is
his connection to Dr Curian? Find out next issue...

GRUESOME GAME GUIDE

STAGES: TRAGEDY

Players begin their mission by dashing across the
seemingly deserted courtyard area. Zombies soon
make their presence felt and attack a number of
fleeing scientists who need to be rescued. In par-
ticular, a huge zombie is seen carrying a scientist
to the edge of a bridge, where he will be hurled
to his doom. Players are required to shoot the
creature a number of times before the scientist
reaches safety. Mutant dogs and fish also make
their first appearance in the game and move
with frightening speed. Upon entering the
mansion, more zombies attack and
number of secret routes are to be
discovered before players face the
armoured might of Chariot.

BOSS: CHARIOT

WeE protected and armed, Chariot
attacks ferociously with its mighty
battle axe. This fiend's weak spot is
located in its chest and highlighted A

by a blood red patch. While one player
aims at this target, the other should keep
Chariot at bay by laying down covering fire.

STAGE a: REVENGE

The beautiful Sophie makes her delightful presence
felt once again and tantalises players with vital
clues and information. The exploration of the man-
sion continues with players making their way
through such diverse locations as the Art Room,
Bedrooms, Kitchen and Research Centre. Creatures
encountered in this stage include bloodthirsty bats,
monkey zombies and knife-wielding, suit -wearing
undead office workers! Rowgun and G also explore
the abandoned chemical factory where they are
attacked by a number of bizarre creations before
making a mad dash across the mansion's roof

ARTWORK PSEGA 1997

BOSS: HANGEDMAN

By combining human and bat DNA, Dr Curian's
scientists have created the Hangedman.
Surrounded by a dark cloud of hovering bats, this
flying monstrosity swoops down towards players
and rakes the screen with its claws before taking
to the sky again. It's attacks are followed by multi-
ple bat assaults. To defeat this beast, aim for the
centre of its torso and, in particular, concentrate
fire when it approaches the screen.

STAGE 3: TRUTH

Dr Curian finally reveals himself before beating a
hasty retreat. Entering a laboratory, players
face Hermit for the first time as well as
some next generation zombies. These
undead creatures are partly
encased in metal and offer some
hint as to what the mad Doc is
really up to. Also appearing are
evil zombies with stretchable,
hooked claws. A secret elevator is
to be discovered nearby. Saving a
female scientist gains players an
extra life while multiple
routes also present themselves.

BOSS: HERMIT

Scurrying away to its pipe lair,
Hermit is a vicious creature
indeed. As detailed before, this
arachnid boss moves with
speed that belies its enor-
mous bulk. Watch out for
multiple leg attacks and
web thread that appears
from its rear. After blast-
ing its head, players
soon slow the creature
down and then move
in for the kill!

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 95

OUT HOW

PANDEMONIUM

BY SEGA £44.99 90%

A; the video gaming public are more than
aware, the PlayStation's lack of decent
platform titles has long been a source of
embarrassment for Sony and their recent
attempts to hype Crash Bandicoot as a
company mascot were merely laughable.
However, all that has changed recently as
US based developer Crystal Dynamics
have managed to triumph were others
had failed by developing Pandemonium, a
colourful 2.5D platformer that has elevat-
ed this neglected genre from its 16-bit

Now. thanks to a bit of quick thinking.
5ega have snapped up Pandemonium
from previous UK distributor BMC and
unleashed this Technicolour title on the
Saturn. We say Pandemonium is a "2.5D"
platformer due to the game's linear struc-
ture. Players run from left to right across
bizarre fantasy worlds and actual 3D sec-
tions are few and far between. But even
taking into account its basic structure,
Pandemonium still manages to conjure
up warm and cuddly feelings of platform
games from yesteryear. There's certainly
nothing original about bouncing on ene-
mies, collecting power-ups and facing
huge end-of-level bosses but this game
manages to incorporate all of these fea-
tures and covers them with a sugary coat-
ing to warm the hearts of those jaded
Saturn owners bored with endless beat-
'em-upsand Doom style corridor titles.
PlayStation owners receive yet another
kick in the teeth, as Pandemonium is also
the first Saturn game to feature trans-
parencies, an amazing programming feat
previously thought to be impossible. If
Sega have been hanging their heads in

FIGHTERS MEGAMIX

BY SEGA ETBA 95%

The best Sega fighting game EVER, finally
makes its mark on the Saturn. UK gamers
have been tearing their hair out in anticipa-
tion for AM2's latest 3D beat 'em up and, as
SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE assured you, the fin-
ished results have been well worth the wait.

The thought of a title that combined both Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighting Vipers
characters on one disc was dismissed as mere rumour six months ago but
Fighters MegaMix is definitely no myth. It's simply the Saturn game you have
to buyl Although the game neglects to use VFz's high resolution mode, and
instead opts for the slightly rougher feel of Fighting Vipers, the smooth ani-
mation and perfect timing of both
the original titles has been retained.
While hardcore garners may feel
more at home with VF2's pixel perfect
moves, MegaMix has a looser feel
which many players will appreciate.
Also on the plus side are the welcome
additions of Viper's style walls,
armour breaker moves, new play
modes and a host of hidden charac-
ters including Virtua Cop's Janet
Marshall and even the Daytona
Hornet! UK Saturn owners may be
worried that the PAL conversion will
suffer but rest assured that Sega have
taken the time to reduce the game's
potentially obtrusive borders and
even the loss of speed is minimal. If
Virtua Fighter 3 on Saturn never hap-
pens, we could be looking at the
game of the year. So what are you
waiting for? Go buy it!

shame because of the likes of Bug Too!
and Sonic 3D Blast then Pandemonium
more than satisfies with a combination of
tongue-in-cheek humour, sneaky level
designs and a supremely satisfying chal-
lenge. Pandemonium may not have the
longevity of other Saturn titles but com-
pleting the game is only half the fun.
Locating all the secret sections and wacky
bonus games adds yet another level of
gameplay to this top platforming romp.

MR BONES

BY SEGA £29.99 66%

Well, it's certainly different. In develop-
ment for what seems like an eternity, Mr
Bones finally rattles his boney ass over to
these shores only to be greeted with a
slightly better than average score. We
usually only give this kind of scorn to
obscure Japanese import titles but if ever
a PAL game deserved harsh criticism, it's
this musical malarky Developed by those
crazy Yanks Segasoft, Mr Bones attempts
to blend numerous gameplay styles with
some appalling American humour and
the results are a shambling mess to say
the least.

Now we at SEGA SATURN MAGA-
ZINE have no problem with software
companies attempting to develop new
gaming ideas. After all. originality is the
key to successful video games but after
playing Mr Bones for five minutes, you
soon get the feeling that you're looking at
some kind of aborted Mega CD title.
Using a combination of rendered sprites
and FMV backgrounds, this anatomical
abomination offers players the opportuni-
ty to guide old calcium cranium through
a number of diverse stages in an attempt
to win his body back from beyond the
grave. Using rock music as a key element,
Mr Bones tackles such yawnsome tasks as
entertaining the undead with naff jokes,
performing dreadful Eric Clapton style
guitar riffs and playing bongos in Hell. A
lack of depth, very little gameplay and

some of the worst comedy this side of H
De-Hi. Best avoided.

MECHWARRIOR 2

BYACTIVISI0N£«.9989%

Although receiving a not-too-shabby SSM
rating of 89% last month, Activision's
MechWarrior 2 could have easily sur-
passed this score with the addition of a
multi-player mode. Certainly a split-
screen option or even a Link Cable feature
would have been heartily welcomed but
alas this futuristic strategy shoot-'em-up
remains purely a one player affair. Of
course that's not say that MechWarrior 2
is uninspiring at all. On the contrary,
Activision must be commended for pro-
ducing an enthralling Saturn title that
manages to perfectly capture the intensi-
ty of the PC original yet adds enough
extras to keep 32-bit console owners
more than happy. You know you're such a
picky bunch...

Players take command of a number
of walking assault platforms (or Mechs),
each of which is armed to the teeth with
state-of-the-art weapons, and tackle up
to 32 varied missions ranging from
search-and-destroy campaigns to all-out
attacks on enemy strongholds. This action
takes place from inside the cockpit of
each Mech and as a first person perspec-

tive blaster, MechWarrior 2 excels.
Smooth visuals and superb sound effects
all combine to give MechWarrior 2 a sur-
prisingly realistic atmosphere, one that
proves accessible to both skilled warriors
and novice players alike. Initial missions
give pilots the opportunity to get to grip
with the Mech's basic controls and
weapons while later campaigns are
tougher, requiring a player'stotal concen-
tration. Be warned though! If you're
expecting just a basic shoot-'em-up,
you're going to be sadly disappointed.
MechWarrior 2 requires players to use
their brains and their trigger fingers in

96 SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE

□ED

order to meet the challenge of the Clan
wars. Still, if this were an easier game to
wade through, SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE
would have been forced to knock
MechWarrior j's score down considerably.
As it stands, Activision have produced a
testing, engaging and worthy addition to
any Saturn owner's library.

SCORCHER

BY SEGA £TBA 70%

When Scavenger first announced their
intention to develop Saturn games, ini-
tial promises and early footage hinted at
some superb titles to come. Two years
later and both AMOK and Scorcher have
failed to live up to their own hype.

Set in yet another post -apocalyptic
wasteland (the future doesn't look that
rosy does it?), players race against each
over a series of spiralling courses bump-
ing and bouncing around the tracks in
self-contained energy spheres. Obstacles
such as pot holes, barriers and sheers
drops are present to test a pilot's skill
but the addition of other pilots also
makes for some nail-biting races.
Unfortunately, Scorcher is purely a one

player game with CPU controlled oppo-
nents providing the bulk of the chal-
lenge and tricky tracks added as an addi-

tional nuisance. The game's main failing
is that the control of the sphere's is very
poor. Miss the desired piece of track or
accidentally nudge another racer and
players ricochet around the course
before regaining their lost time and
positions. While Sega Rally offers a true
racing challenge and Wipeout has its
trademark breakneck speed, Scorcher
basically misses the boat by offering a
confusing mishmash of racing features
that haven't been done better and faster
somewhere else. Let's hope future
Scavenger titles are of a higher quality.

SHINING THE HOLY ARK

BY SEGA £44,99 93%

If there's one style of video game that

both American and European audi-
ences are crying out for it's RPG's.

Fortunately, Sega Europe have just

released the awesome epic that is

Shining the Holy Ark! Continuing the

classic Shining series, Team Sonic's

latest RPG offers Saturn owners

something other than a standard

overhead fantasy adventure. For a

start the entire game is played from a

first person perspective which cer-
tainly adds a refreshing change to what can be a fairly predictable genre.

Shining the Holy Ark features an engaging storyline, some spectacular battles,
devilishly clever puzzles and an array
of dazzling spells to master. If you've
never been tempted by turn-based
combat and the lengthy explorations
that form the core of any decent RPG,
take a chance and purchase this title.
Shining the Holy Ark offers days and
weeks of thoroughly enjoyable gam-
ing and deserves recognition as a
superb Saturn title. Keep your eyes
peeled for the full SSM guide!

ALSO OUT HOW

GUNGRIFF0N
HANG ON '95
HARDCORE 4X4

£44.99
£39.99
£44.99

88%
60%
76%

SEGA AGES
SEGA RALLY
SHELLSHOCK

£39.99
£49.99

£44.99

91%

97%
73%

ACTUA GOLF

£44.99

90%

HEBEREKE'S P0POIT0

£39.99

68%

SHINDBI-X

£39.99

69%

ALIEN TRILOGY

£44.99

85%

HIGHWAY 2000

£39.99

60%

SHOCK WAVE ASSAULT

£39,99

55%

ALONE IN THE DARK 2: JACK'S BACK

£39.99

52%

THE HORDE

£39,99

88%

SIM CITY 2000

£39.99

5B%

AREA 51

£39.99

72%

IMPACT RACING

£39.99

85%

SLAM 'N JAM

£39.99

69%

ATHLETE KINGS

£44.99

90%

INCREDIBLE HULK

£44,99

15%

SONIC 3D BLAST

£44.99

82%

BAKU BAKU ANIMAL

£29.99

93%

IRONMAN X-0 MANOWAR

£44.99

41%

SPACE HULK

£39.99

90%

BATMAN FOREVER

£39.99

63%

JEWELS OF THE ORACLE

£39.99

60%

STARFIGHTER 2000

£39.99

72%

BUM! MAGHINEHEAD

£44.99

84%

£44.99

92%

STREET FIGHTER ALPHA

£44.99

93%

BLAST CHAMBER

£44.99

63%

JOHNNY BAZOOKATONE

£44.99

38%

STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 2

£44.99

95%

BLAZING DRAGONS

£39.99

23%

JVC VICTORY BOXING

£44.99

80%

STREET FIGHTER THE MOVIE

£44.99

43%

BOMBERMAN

£44.99

90%

KRAZY IVAN

£39.99

75%

STREET RACER

£44.99

82%

BIG HURT BASEBALL

£44.99

58%

LOADED

£44.99

84%

STRIKER '9G

£44.99

75%

BREAKPOINT
BUBBLE BOBBLE PACK

£44.99
£29.99

78%
92%

MAGIC CARPET

£44.99

88%

SUPERPUZZLE FIGHTER II

£44.99

86%

MANSION OF HIDDEN SOULS
MANX TT SUPERBIKE

£39.99
£44.99

5B%
91%

SWAGMAN
TEMPEST 2000

£44.99
£24.99

BB%
80%

BUG!
BUG TOO!
CHAOS CONTROL

£49.99
£44.99

79%
85%

MASS DESTRUCTION

£44.99

87%

THEME PARK

£44.99

85%

MEGAMAN X3

£44,99

66%

THREE DIRTY DWARVES

£39.99

G5%

£39.99

56%

MIGHTY HITS

£29.99

67%

TIME WARNER'S VIRTUA RACING

£44.99

59%

CLOCKWORK KNIGHT

£39.99

64%

MYSTARIA

£39.99

79%

TITAN WARS

£39.99

53%

CLOCKWORK KNIGHT 2

£39.99

B3%

MYST

£44.99

71%

TOMB RAIDER

£44.99

94%

COMMAND AND CONQUER

£49.99

94%

NBA LIVE '97

£44.99

67%

T0SHINDEN REMIX

£44.99

66%

CRIME WAVE

£39.99

73%

NBA JAM EXTREME

£44.99

70%

TOSHINDEN URA

£44.99

60%

CRYPT KILLER

£44.99

67%

NBA JAM TE

£39.99

B3%

TRUE PINBALL

£39.99

71%

CYBERIA

£39.99

77%

THE NEED FOR SPEED

£39.99

75%

TUNNEL B1

£44.99

B5%

CYBER SPEEDWAY

£39.99

66%

NFL QUARTERBACK

£44.99

7fl%

ULTIMATE MORTAL K0MBAT 3

£44.99

91%

DARIUS GAIOEN

£29.99

79%

NFL QUARTERBACK CLUB 97

£44.99

65%

VALORA VALLEY GOLF

£39.99

74%

DARK SAVIOUR

£49.99

92%

NHL HOCKEY

£44,99

76%

VIRTUA FIGHTER KIDS

£39.99

91%

DAYTONA CCE

£49.99

90%

NHL HOCKEY 97

£44,99

84%

VICTORY GOAL

£39.99

57%

DAYTONA USA

£49.99

92%

NIGHTS

£59.99

96%

VIRTUA COP

£44.99

94%

DEFCON 5

£44.99

67%

NIGHT WARRIOR&DARKSTALKERS REVENGE £44.99

93%

VIRTUA COP 2

£44.99

95%

DESTRUCTION DERBY

£39.99

68%

NORSE BY NORSEWEST

£44.99

89%

VIRTUA FIGHTER

£49.99

91%

DIGITAL PINBALL

£39.99

59%

OLYMPIC SOCCER

£39.99

84%

VIRTUA FIGHTER 2

£49.99

98%

DISCWORLD

£39.99

72%

OPERATION BLACKFIRE

£39.99

75%

VIRTUA FIGHTER REMIX

£29.99

91%

DOOM

£44.99

56%

PANZER DRAGOON

£49.99

86%

VIRTUA OPEN TENNIS

£39.99

68%

EXHUMED

£44.99

94%

PANZER DRAGOON 2

£49.99

93%

VIRTUAL ON

49.99

94%

EURO '96

£44.99

80%

PEBBLE BEACH GOLF

£39.99

77%

WING ARMS

£39.99

68%

FIFA '98

£39.99

79%

PGA TOUR GOLF 97

£44.99

68%

WIPEOUT

£39.99

86%

FIGHTING VIPERS

£49.99

94%

PRO PINBALL: THE WEB

£49.99

70%

WORLD CUP GOLF

£49.99

68%

FIRESTORM

£44.99

84%

RAYMAN

£44.99

59%

WORLD SERIES BASEBALL

£39.99

81%

GALACTIC ATTACK

£39.99

72%

REVOLUTION X

£39.99

40%

WORLDWIDE SOCCER '97

£44.99

94%

GEX

£39,99

71%

RETURN FIRE

£39,99

30%

WORMS

£49,99

83%

GOLDEN AXE: THE DUEL

£39.99

75%

ROBOTICA

£39.99

55%

WWF WRESTLEMANIA

£39.99

80%

GUARDIAN HEROES

£44.99

93%

SEA BASS FISHING

£39.99

80%

X-MEN: CHILDREN OF THE ATOM

£49.99

92%

SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE 97

Introducin

PSYCHIC WARLOCK

ASSASSIN TAROMARU

Two-player action and magical spells make
Psychic Warrior an awesome game.

eveloped by the Japanese division of Time Warner
Interactive, Psychic Warlock Assassin Taromani (a mouth-
ful of a title if ever there was one} has recently surfaced as a
scorching hot Saturn import title. Although TW1 only produced
copies of the game before ceasing trading, the company
obviously pulled out all the stops to deliver a stunning 2D
title.
Following in the hallowed footsteps of such classic video
Konami's Castlevania and Ikari Warriors, Psychic
, / Warlock is an incredibly detailed platformer set in feudal Japan. As

'"v. _ ~ magical ninja warriors, players set out on a challenging quest armed
with powerful lock-on spells and mystical abilities. These powers
' enable both characters, Taromaru and Enkai, to charge up their spells
. before unleashing devastating multiple attacks This mystical energy is
?*, also used to conjure a protective forcefield which deflects attacks and acts
ij^ as a gravity brake when falling from long drops. Mastering all of these
^vJJ abilities is the key to surviving one of the toughest platformers we've
played for ages. Forget Pandemonium. Psychic Warlock is rock-hard with
many enemies attacking simultaneously, cunning levels to negotiate and massive
bosses, some of which are actually larger than the screen itself! The action is
relentless and, instead of the usual chapter breaks and end of level challenges,
players tackle one continuing adventure that increases in size and difficulty as the
game progresses.

Many Saturn owners may be put off by Psychic Warlock's simple 2D appear-
ance but there are some 3D elements included, such as rotating levels, scaling
buddings and some of the most incredible monsters we've ever seen. As the game
is something of a cult hit in Japan, it's unlikely that we'll ever see Psychic Warlock
Assassin Taromaiu appearing on these shores, but you never know. If a UK compa-
ny (such as THQ] were looking for a sure-fire Saturn hit then this pyrotechnic peri-
od piece definitely fits the bill.

Check out the monsters in these screenshots.
They may only be 2D but the character anima-
tion is superb.

Dear Newsagent ,

I require you to purloin a pristine copy of the superior monthly

periodical known as SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE! I understand that

failure to collect said periodical ona regular basis will result in

confiscation of all my worldy goods and ridicule at the hands of

my friends and family.

NAME

NEXT MONTH...

ADDRESS

The piping hot August edition of SEGA SAT-
URN MAGAZINE will blow you away... Look
out for FULL E3 Exhibition coverage in the
next edition, along with the FIRST look at ~"
the Saturn translation of Sega Touring Car
Championship AND Project Sonic! Plus we'll have loads more on the games that
matter: Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Last Dronx, Resident Evil, Marvel Super Heroes,
Nuclear Strike, WipEout 2097... quite frankly YOU CANT MISS THIS ISSUE!

PRKE CHOKE QUALITY! SERVICE

THESE HAVE MADE US ONE OF THE LARGEST
SUPPLIERS OF COMPUTER GAMES IN THE COUNTRY!!

0113 234 0444

SALES HOTLINES

0113 234 0999

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Oil 3 234 0666

CUSTOMER SERVICES

OUT OF THIS WORLD
SATURN PACKS AT DOWN TO
EARTH PRICES!!!

COMING SOON ON THE SATURN

* HH ^SHSVS^r. r^n

Sua Saturn & Daytona USA f 132.

' Sega Saturn & Thunderhawk 2 §134

. Sega Saturn & Tomb Raider £151

Sega Saturn & Alien Trilogy or DOOM SHI

Sega Saturn & Sega Rally or Worldwide Soccer '97 or Euro '96 £142.

, Sega Saturn & Die Hard Trilogy & Predator Gun £171

■ buy an rf uad at the same time as a saturn foraj5te13

■ buy a terminator pad at the same time as a saturn — forajste 7

■ but an bmb mimoby card at the same ttme as a saturn jos act £21.

■ buy a dust cover at the same time asa saturn for juste 4.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS

AUCTION OF

ADULT SWEDISH

LITERATURE

RARE ADULT VIDEOS , MAGAZINES

AND
EROTIC PARAPHERNALIA

The Staff Room, Friday lunchtime (Pupils welcome)

f

Stick this up. lake cover and prepare to wet yourself.

ENQUIRIES: CALL 0500 011 806

WETiYOURSELF

^j£] SJ53JS eS£L

RETRO/*\ACS
x w

Our goal is to preserve classic videogame magazines
from years gone by, before they are lost forever.

Thanks goes out to everyone who makes this possible.

Starting with the original writers and editors,

to all the people involved in acquiring and

digitizing these magazines.

People interested in helping us out,

in whichever way possible.

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